936 

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UC-NRLF 


B    3    5SD    77D 


A  STUDY  OF  COWLEY'S  DAVIDEIS 


A   DISSERTATION 

p..   -SEN TED     TO     THE     BOARD     OF     UNIVERSITY     STUDIES     OF      THE 

JOHNS     HOPKINS    UNIVERSITY     FOR    THE     DEGREE 

OF     DOCTOR     OF     PHILOSOPHY 


JOHN  McLaren  mcbryde,  jr. 

ROFESSuR    OF    ENGLISH    LANGUAGE    AND    LITERATURE     AT     HOLLINS 

INSTITUTE,     VA, 
FORMERLY     FELLOW     IN    ENGLISH    AT    JOHNS     HOPKINS    UNIVERSITY 


[RhfRINTED  FROM  ThE  JOURNAL  OF  GERMANIC  PHILOLOGY,  VOL.   II,    No.  4.] 


A  STUDY  OF  COWLEY'S  DAVIDEIS 


A   DISSERTATION 

PRESENTED     TO     THE     BOARD     OF     UNIVERSITY     STUDIES      OF      THE 

JOHNS    HOPKINS    UNIVERSITY     FOR    THE     DEGREE 

OF     DOCTOR     OF     PHILOSOPHY 


JOHN  McLaren  Mcbryde,  jr. 

PROFESSOR    OF    ENGLISH     LANGUAGE    AND    LITERATURE      AT     HOLLINS 

INSTITUTE,      VA. 

FORMERLY     FELLOW     IN    ENGLISH    AT    JOHNS     HOPKINS     UNIVERSITY 


[Reprinted  from  The  Journal  of  Germanic  Philology,  Vol.  II,  No.  4.] 


TO 

MY    COLLEAGUES    AND    FORMER    FELLOW-STUDENTS, 

FREDERICK     TUPPER,     JR. 

AND 

JAMES    PINCKNEY    KINARD. 


'Ar^7()^^^ 


IV 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


Page 

Introduction,           ...........  i 

Biographical  Sketch,     ..........  2 

The  Familiar  Letters  of  Cowley,   ........  6 

The  David  Theme  in  Literature  Preceding  Cowle}^     ....  14 

A.  Catalogue  of  Dramas  and  Poems  on  the  subject  of  David,     .  16 

B.  Examination  of  Accessible  Plays  and  Poems,         ...  23 

Rothschild, 23 

Bishop  Bale, 23 

Hans  Sachs,           .........  25 

Du  Bartas, 25 

George  Peele,        .........  35 

Francis  Ouarles,            ........  36 

George  Sandys,  George  Wither,  George  Herbert,       .         .  38 

Michael  Drayton,           ........  38 

Thomas  Fuller,     .........  40 

Thomas  Heywood,        ........  41 

Robert  Ashle)^'s  Translation  of  Malvezzi,  ....  42 

Felice  Passero,     .........  43 

Arias  Montanus,  .........  43 

David's  Troubles,  etc.,         .         ,         .         .       ■  .         .         .  43 
Remarks   on   the   Growth  of  the  English  Religious   Epic    Prior   to 

Milton,  and  the  Part  Played  by  Cowley  in  this  Development,     .  44 

Cowley  and  Milton,       ..........  46 

Poems  on  the  subject  of  David  Subsequent  to  Cowle)'^'s,    ...  47 

The  Davideis  in  its  Relation  to  Crashaw's  Sospetto  D' Herode,      .         .  50 

Cowley  and  Virgil,         ..........  59 

Imitations  of  the  Aeneid,  VII,  2S6  ff.  Preceding  Cowley,    ...  66 

Fracastor'sy^j-^///,         ........  66 

Metre  of  the  Davideis^   ..........  75 


A  STUDY  OF  COWLEY'S  DAVIDEIS. 

THE  literary  reputation  of  Cowley  has  undergone 
many  vicissitudes.  In  his  own  day  accounted 
superior  to  Milton  and  to  Tasso,  he  is  now  almost  com- 
pletely forgotten,  and  even  of  his  most  enthusiastic 
admirers  very  few  can  be  found  who  have  read  through 
the  Davideis,  the  subject  of  the  following  investigation. 
For  this  neglect  the  poet  can  blame  no  one  but  himself. 
He  had  a  loftiness  of  purpose  and  a  seriousness  of  thought 
far  in  advance  of  the  other  poets  of  his  school ;  yet  he 
had  not  the  strength  to  resist  the  popular  taste,  nor  the 
judgment  to  select  only  the  enduring  qualities  of  his  age. 
(Compare  Dryden's  well-known  simile  of  the  drag-net.) 
Dr.  Grosart  has  eloquently  defended  Cowley  against  the 
'elaborate  and  weighty'  criticism  of  Dr.  Johnson,  and 
against  Mr.  Gosse  with  his  'smoky  or  jaundice-yellow 
pair  of  spectacles,'  and  has  catalogued  in  detail  the  endur- 
ing poems,  passages,  and  lines  of  Cowley.  It  is  not  the 
purpose  of  the  following  study  to  enter  into  a  criticism 
of  the  poet.  Very  few,  however,  will  dissent  from  Dr. 
Grosart's  thesis,  that  Cowley  has  been  too  much  neglected 
in  our  day,  and  that  both  as  a  lyrist  and  a  prose  writer  he 
has  made  some  notable  and  lasting  contributions  to  our 
literature.  It  was  as  an  epic  writer  that  his  failure  was 
most  conspicuous,  and  his  Davideis  has  justly  sunk  into 
oblivion,  in  spite  of  Rymer's  judgment  in  pronouncing  it 
superior  to  Tasso's  Jerusalem  Delivered.  The  purpose, 
then,  in  resurrecting  this  almost  forgotten  epic  of  Cow- 
ley's is  not  to  make  it  a  basis  for  a  criticism  of  the  poet, 
but  to  show  in  some  slight  way  the  growth  of  the  religious 
epic  prior  to  Milton,  and  the  part  which  Cowley  took  in 
its  development. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH. 

Abraham  Cowley  was  the  '  posthumous  son  of  Thomas 
Cowley,  citizen  and  stationer,  and  of  the  parish  of  St. 
Michael  Le  Querne.' ' 

As  his  father's  will  wa«  dated  London,  Parish  of  St. 
Michael  le  Querne,  July  24,  1618,  and  as  the  poet  died 
July  28,  1667,  in  his  49th  year.  Dr.  Grosart  places  the 
approximate  date  of  Abraham's  birth  between  August 
and  December  1618. 

Cowley  was  entered  at  Westminster  School  as  King's 
Scholar,  the  exact  date  of  his  admission  not  being  known, 
and  here  at  the  age  of  ten  years  he  wrote  his  first  poem, 
an  epical  romance,  entitled  TJie  TragicalL  Historic  of 
Piramus  and  Thisbe,  and  dedicated  to  Mr.  Lambert  Osbol- 
ston.  Headmaster  of  Westminster.  Two  years  later  he 
wrote  another  little  epic,  Constantia  and  Philetns,  and  in 
1633  his  poems  were  collected  into  a  volume  and  y^\j\i- 
\\^\i&di  \\\\}i\  X}c\q,\\\\q  Poetical  Blossoms,  and  with  a  dedica- 
tion to  the  famous  John  Williams,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  at 
that  time  Dean  of  Westminster.  These  schoolboy  efforts 
were  well  received  and  went  through  several  editions,  so 
that  the  young  writer,  being  tempted  to  try  with  his 
muse  a  still  more  lofty  flight,  wrote,  while  still  at  West- 
minster, his  first  drama,  a  pastoral  comedy  in  English, 
entitled  Love  s  Riddle.  This  was  published  in  1638,  with  a 
dedication  to  Sir  Kenelm  Digby. 

Leaving  Westminster  then,  with  a  reputation  as  a  rising 
man  of  letters,  he  entered  Trinity  College,  Cambridge, 
where  he  took  the  oath  June  14,  1637,  and  was  admitted 
as  Westminster  scholar  (Lumby,  Prose  Works).  In  the 
same  year  Richard  Crashaw  was  elected  Fellow  of  Peter- 
house  from  Pembroke  Hall,  and  from  this  time  dates  the 
iriendship  between  the  two  poets.  It  was  at  this  period, 
too,  that  Cowley  began  his  Davideis,  and  that  Crashaw 
probably  made  his  translation  of  the  first  book  of  Marini's 
Strage  degli  Innoccnti. 

'  Peter  Cunningham,  Johnson's  Lives  of  the  Poets,  3  vols.  8vo.  1854 
(Murray),  I,  3,  quoted  by  Dr.  Grosart,  I,  x.  See  also  J.  L.  Chester,  Notes  and 
Queries,  4th  Series,  XI,  340, 


— 3— 

In  1639  Cowley  received  his  Bachelor's  degree,  and 
October  30,  1640,  became  Minor  Fellow.  According  to 
Lumby  he  was  not  admitted  as  Major  Fellow,  and  proba- 
bly left  Cambridge  without  proceeding  to  a  full  degree. 
Dr.  Grosart,  however,  on  the  authority  of  the  Alumni 
Wcstvwnastcriciisis,  gives  among  the  landmarks  of  Cowley's 
progress  at  Trinity  : 

Chosen  a  Major  Fellow  in  1642. 

Proceeded  M.A.  of  Cambridge  in  due  course. 

And  Anthony  a  Wood  {Fasti  Oxon.  II.  col.  209,  note)  has 
the  following  entry:  'Abraham  Cowley,  admissus  Socius 
Minor  Collegii  Trinitatis  Oct.  30,  1640,  Major  (Socius) 
Mar.  16,  1642.  Reg.  Coll.  Trin.  Cant.'  Still  further 
proof  of  the  fact  that  Cowley  finally  proceeded  to  his 
M.A.  is  seen  in  the  following  letter  of  Vice-Chancellor 
Feme  re-instating  the  poet  in  his  fellowship  (quoted  in 
full  by  Lumby,  p.  XVII): 

'Whereas  we  received  a  letter  from  his  Ma'ty  dated  the  last  of  January  in 
behalf  of  Mr.  Abraham  Cowley,  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  for  the  continu- 
ance of  his  seven  years  before  taking  holy  orders,  in  regard  of  his  being 
eiected  immediately  after  his  taking  degree  of  Master  of  Ars,  etc., 

H.  Ferne.' 

Wood  also  states  that  Cowley  was  M.A.  of  Cambridge. 

At  Cambridge  Cowley's  literary  activity  continued. 
He  contributed  a  Latin  poem  to  the  '^vvwbia  sive  Miisanivi 
Cantabrigensimn  Concentiis,  a  collection  of  verses  upon  the 
birth  of  Princess  Anne  (March  17,  1636/7),  so  that  from 
the  outset  his  sympathy  with  the  royal  party  was  strong. 
Among  other  distinguished  contributors  to  this  collection 
were  Thomas  Chambers,  the  Vice-Chancellor,  Samuel 
Collins,  the  Provost  of  King's  College,  James  Duport, 
afterwards  Bishop  of  Peterborough,  and  Richard  Crashaw. 
Cowley  wrote  various  other  Latin  poems,  and  on  the  2d 
of  February,  1638,  a  Latin  comedy  of  his,  entitled  A^««/rrt:- 
gium  J  ocular  c,\xiW\Q  style  of  Plautus,  was  performed  by 
the  men  of  his  college  before  the  members  of  the  Univer- 
sity. It  was  printed  the  same  year,  with  a  dedication  to 
Dr.  Comber,  Dean  of  Carlisle,  and  Master  of  Trinity. 


— 4— 

When  on  the  12th  of  March,  1641,  the  King  passed 
through  Cambridge  with  his  little  son  Charles  (afterwards 
Charles  II),  an  entertainment  was  hastily  arranged  for  his 
benefit,  and  Cowley  wrote  for  the  occasion  his  comedy 
The  Guardian.  It  was  not  printed  till  1650,  though  mean- 
time it  had  been  acted  privately  '  during  the  troubles.' 

In  February  1643/4  came  the  commission  of  the  Earl  of 
Manchester  'to  take  special  care  that  the  solemn  league 
and  Covenant  be  tendered  and  taken  in  the  University  of 
Cambridge,'  and  as  a  consequence  Cowley,  in  common 
with  nearly  all  the  Masters  and  Fellows,  was  forcibly 
ejected  from  the  University.  Together  with  Crashaw 
and  many  others,  he  took  refuge  in  Oxford,  then  quite  a 
Royalist  stronghold,  and  entered  St.  John's  College. 
Here  he  became  intimate  with  Lord  Falkland,  to  whom 
he  afterwards  addressed  some  lines.  He  attached  him- 
self to  the  Royal  cause  and  secured  an  introduction  to 
Baron  Jermyn,  afterwards  Earl  of  St.  Albans,  one  of  the 
Queen's  most  trusted  friends  and  admirers.  Through 
him  Cowley  was  brought  into  her  service,  and  when  in 
July  1644  the  Queen  escaped  from  England  and  took 
refuge  in  Paris,  Cowley  accompanied  her  as  secretary  to 
Lord  Jermyn.  His  duties  as  secretary  were  arduous,  and 
his  life  in  Paris  was  distasteful  to  him  ;  y^X.  he  managed 
to  continue  his  literary  work,  and  wrote  while  there  his 
collection  of  love  poems  entitled  TJie  Mistress.  In  Paris 
he  met  his  friend  Crashaw  again,  then  in  actual  need,  and 
introduced  him  to  the  Queen.  Through  her,  Crashaw 
was  appointed  secretary  to  Cardinal  Palotta,  and  died  in 
Italy  a  short  time  later,  soon  after  he  had  been  appointed 
one  of  the  Canons  of  the  church  of  Loretto. 

In  1656  Lord  Jermyn  sent  Cowley  to  England,  in  order 
that  he  might,  says  Sprat,  '  under  pretence  of  privacy 
and  retirement,  take  occasion  of  giving  notice  of  the 
posture  of  things  in  this  nation.'  Shortly  after  reaching 
his  native  land,  he  was  seized  by  mistake  for  another,  but 
as  soon  as  his  identity  was  discovered  he  was  cast  into 
prison. 


While  in  prison,  in  1656,  he  published  the  first  collected 
edition  of  his  poems  in  folio,  containing-  The  Miscellanies, 
The  Mistress,  Pindariquc  Odes,  and  Davideis. 

Through  the  influence  of  his  friends  he  secured  his 
liberty  this  same  year,  and  Sir  Charles  Scarborough  went 
his  bail  for  the  sum  of  i^i.ooo.  In  the  following  year,  in 
September  1657,  Cowley  acted  as  groomsman  at  the  mar- 
riage of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  and  wrote  a  sonnet 
upon  the  occasion. 

December  2d,  1657  (Wood,  i^.  O.  II,  col.  209),  he  secured 
the  degree  of  M.D.  from  the  University  of  Oxford,  and 
withdrew  into  Kent,  where  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
study  of  botany,  in  order,  says  Sprat,  '  to  dissemble  the 
main  intention  of  his  coming  over.'  As  a  result  of  his 
study,  he  wrote  his  Plantariim  Libri,  published  in  1662, 
and  included  in  his  Poemata  Latina  of   1668. 

'  Taking  the  opportunity  of  the  confusion  that  followed 
upon  Cromwell's  death,'  says  Sprat,  'he  ventured  back 
into  France,  and  there  remained  in  the  same  station  as 
before,  till  near  the  time  of  the  King's  return.'  Of  this, 
his  second  sojourn  in  France,  we  have  no  account. 

In  1660  he  returned  to  England  and  published  his  long 
and  labored  Ode  upon  his  Blessed  Majesty  s  Restoration  and 
Return.  On  the  nth  of  February  of  this  year  he  was 
restored  to  his  Fellowship  at  Cambridge  (Lumby). 

The  following  year  he  wrote  his  famous  Discourse  by 
ivay  of  a  Vision  concerning  his  late  pretended  Highness,  Croni- 
zvell  the  Wicked,  and  Wx-s,  Proposition  for  the  Advancement  of 
Experimental  Philosophy. 

Cowley's  efforts  to  obtain  from  the  Government  sub- 
stantial aid  in  recognition  of  his  long  and  arduous  services, 
all  ended  in  disappointment.  An  absurd  charge  of  treason 
was  brought  against  him,  and  Charles  II  had  nothing  to 
give  him  but  posthumous  praise.  The  Mastership  of 
Savoy  had  been  promised  him  by  both  Charles  I  and 
Charles  II,  but  he  never  received  the  appointment.  It 
was  at  this  gloomy  period  of  his  life  that  he  wrote  his 
Complaint ,  %\.y\\n'g  himself  the   'Melancholy  Cowley,'   for 


which  he  was  ridiculed  in  some  verses  beginning  '  Savoy- 
missing  Cowley  has  come  into  Court,'  wrongly  attributed 
by  Mr.  Leslie  Stephen  to  Suckling  {Diet.  Nat.  Biog. 
'  Cowley  '). 

He  then  retired  from  public  life  to  Barn  Elms,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Thames,  and  through  the  influence  of  his 
friends,  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  and  the  Earl  of  St. 
Albans,  secured  a  lease  of  the  Queen's  lands. 

Thus  relieved  from  want,  he  continued  his  literary 
work,  in  1663  appeared  his  Verses  upon  Several  Occa- 
sions. In  this  same  year,  the  Royal  Society  was  founded, 
and  Cowley  was  one  of  the  charter  members.  He  took 
great  interest  in  the  science  of  the  day  and  wrote,  about 
this  time,  his  Ode  to  Mr.  Hobhs. 

In  April  1665,  he  removed  to  the  Porch  House  in 
Chertsey.  There,  in  spite  of  his  troubles  with  his  tenants 
and  neighbors,  he  continued  his  literary  work.  During 
these  last  years  of  his  life,  he  wrote  his  Essays,  and  only  a 
few  months  before  his  death,  he  composed  his  Ode  to  the 
Royal  Society. 

He  died  July  18,  1667,  in  the  49th  year  of  his  age,  and 
was  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey,  near  Chaucer  and 
Spenser. 

THE   FAMILIAR  LETTERS   OF   COWLEY. 

Bishop  Sprat,  Cowley's  friend  and  biographer,  to  whom 
the  poet  bequeathed  his  private  papers,  refused  to  allow 
the  familiar  letters  in  his  possession  to  be  published,  and 
set  forth  in  his  biography  his  old-fashioned  views  in 
regard  to  the  matter.  As  a  consequence  he  has  drawn 
down  upon  his  head  maledictions  of  all  sorts.  '  What 
literary  man,'  says  Coleridge,  '  has  not  regretted  the 
prudery  of  Sprat  in  refusing  to  let  Cowley  appear  in  his 
slippers  and  dressing-gown  ?'  and  this  regret  has  since 
been  voiced  by  every  reader  and  every  editor  of  Cowley. 
Mary  Russell  Mitford,  in  her  Recollections  of  a  Literary 
Life,  1,  65,  goes  so  far  in  her  resentment  as  to  call  the 
innocently  offending  Dean  a  'Goth  and  a  Vandal.'     It  has 


been  assumed  that  all  of  Cowley's  familiar  letters  were 
lost  or  destroyed.  Dr.  Grosart,  in  his  Memorial  Intro- 
duction, regrets  that  '  utterly  disproportionate  search  and 
research  have  aided  very  slightly  to  the  biographical 
data.  Specifically  I  have  been  more  than  disappointed 
that  none  of  the  mass  of  his  "familiar  letters"  which  Sprat 
certainly  possessed,  has  been  traced.  I  cannot  believe 
that  he  destroyed  them.' 

It  seems  almost  incredible  that  -such  a  careful  and 
painstaking  editor  as  Dr.  Grosart  should  so  completely 
have  overlooked  two  articles  in  Frasers  Magazine  (Vols. 
XIII,  395  ;  XIV,  234)  containing  several  apparently  gen- 
uine copies  of  these  much-sought-for  familiar  letters  of 
Cowley.  They  are  easily  accessible  to  the  general  reader 
by  reference  to  Poole's  Index  (1882)  under  the  name 
'  Cowley  ','  yet  it  is  remarkable  that  no  editor  or  biog- 
rapher of  the  poet  has  called  attention  to  these  letters. 

The  articles  in  Eraser,  which  are  unsigned,  are  entitled 
'The  familiar  Letters  of  Cowley,  with  notices  of  his  Life 
and  Sketches  of  some  of  his  Friends  and  Contemporaries 
— Now  first  printed.'  The  writer  of  these  articles  thus 
explains  how  these  letters  came  into  his  possession 
{Eraser  XIII,  397):  'We  are  now  by  a  most  fortunate 
circumstance  enabled  to  state  that  a  large  portion  of 
these  letters  is  preserved,  and  has  been  placed  in  our 
hands  for  arrangement  and  publication,  by  a  descendant 
of  Dr.  Sprat.  Of  their  authenticity  proofs  can  be  afforded 
which  will  satisfy  even  the  incredulity  of  Mr.  Disraeli, 
by  whom  we  are  certain  the  discovery  will  be  hailed 
with  delight  in  his  forth-coming  "  History  of  Literature."  ' 

The  first  article  opens  with  a  brief  but  admirable  criti- 
cism of  Cowley  and  of  the  metaphysical  school,  in  which 
the   editor   proves  himself  a  man  of   wide  learning  and 

"^  lx\  N'otes  and  Queries,  8th  series,  VIII,  465,  Mr.  Roberts  refers  to  this 
apparently  forgotten  article  on  Cowley  in  Fraser  y^lll^and  regrets  that  such 
a  'vast  area  of  valuable  information  in  the  better  class  of  periodicals  of  the 
earlier  part  of  this  century,  is  practically  a  sealed  book  to  literary  inquirers.' 
In  N.  and  Q.,  8th  s.,  IX,  51,  a  reply  was  made  to  Mr.  Roberts,  in  which  it  was 
suggested  that  Poole  s  Index  is  just  such  a  general  index  as  is  required. 


good  judgrnent.  Then  follows  the  first  letter,  'To  his 
Mother,  after  her  sickness,  with  Consolations  for  Mourn- 
ers,' dated  Trinity  College,  March  3  (year  not  given),  and 
signed  'Your  affectionate  son,  A.  Cowley.' 

The  second  letter  is  '  To  Mr.  William  Hervey,  with  an 
account  of  a  visit  to  Ben  Jonson,  a  Sketch  of  Cartwright, 
and  a  Notice  of  the  Sad  Shepherd.'  It  is  signed  'A.  Cow- 
ley,' but  has  no  date  or  place  attached. 

In  vol.  XIV  of  Eraser  is  printed  one  more  letter, 
addressed  to  'My  beloved  friend,  C.  E.',  dated  Trin.  Coll., 
May  8,  1637,  and  signed  'A.  C 

The  editor's  heading  is,  '  Anacreon  at  Cambridge. 
Lyric  Poetry.  Pindar  and  Sappho.  With  a  notice  of 
the  Davideis.' 

Here,  then,  was  apparently  a  noteworthy  find, — no  less 
than  three  of  the  'familiar  letters'  of  Cowley,  so  highly 
praised  by  Dean  Sprat,  and  so  eagerly  sought  for  by 
recent  students  and  editors  of  Cowley.  If  genuine,  they 
would  be  of  almost  priceless  value,  worthy  to  be  placed 
beside  the  famous  Conversations  of  William  Drummond 
of  Hawthornden  with  Ben  Jonson. 

Several  considerations,  however,  awaken  the  suspicion  of 
the  careful  student.  Towards  the  close  of  the  first  letter, 
'  To  his  Mother  after  her  Sickness,'  there  is  a  reference  to 
Herbert,  '  Hear  what  holy  Mr.  George  Herbert  says,'  and 
here  follows  the  last  verse  of  The  Floiver.  Moreover, 
the  editor  himself  refers  to  a  letter  written  by  George 
Herbert  to  his  mother  after  her  sickness,  and  dated 
Trinity  College,  May  29,  1622.  A  comparison  of  the  two 
letters  reveals  a  verbal  correspondence  too  close  to  be 
accidental.  In  the  so-called  Cowley  letter  we  read: 
'For  consider,  dear  Madam,  that  we  never  read  in  the 
Scriptures,  "  blessed  be  the  mighty,  or  blessed  be  the  zvealthy, 
but  blessed  be  the  poor,  and  blessed  be  the  mourners, 
for  they  shall  be  comforted"  '  [Fraser,  XIII,  400).  Herbert 
offers  consolation  to  his  mother  with  exactly  the  same 
words  from  Scripture  :  '  But,  O  God  !  how  easily  is  that 
answered  when  we  consider  that  the  blessings  in  the  Holy 


— 9— 

Scripture  are  never  given  to  the  rich  but  the  poor!  I 
never  find  "  Blessed  be  the  rich,"  or  "  Blessed  be  the 
noble,"  but  "  Blessed  be  the  meek,"  and  "  Blessed  be  the 
poor,"  and  "  Blessed  be  the  mourners,  for  they  shall  be 
comforted"'  (Given  in  V^-Atox^^  Life  of  George  Herbert — 
see  also  Grosart,  Hcrbcrf s  IVor/cs,  Fuller  Worthies,  London, 
1874,  III,  491  ff.). 

Again  in  Fraser,  p.  400,  a  few  lines  further  on,  we  read, 
'and  in  another  place,  "Casting  all  your  care  upon  Him, 
for  He  careth  for  you,"'  with  which  compare  Herbert's 
letter  (Grosart,  III,  493-494),  'And  above  all,  if  any  care  of 
future  things  molest  you,  remember  those  admirable 
words  of  the  Psalmist,  "  Cast  thy  care  on  the  Lord,  and 
He  shall  nourish  thee"  (Psal.  LV).  To  which  joyn  that 
of  St.  Peter,  "  Casting  all  your  care  upon  the  Lord,  for 
He  careth  for  you"  (I  Peter  V,  7),' 

This  similarity  is  not  mere  coincidence,  and  yet  how 
could  young  Cowley  have  had  access  to  Herbert's  private 
letters  written  fifteen  years  before,  and  not  published  by 
Walton  till  1670? 

The  description  of  Ben  Jonson  given  in  the  letter  to 
Mr.  William  Hervey  is  clearly  based  upon  Aubrey,  to 
whom  indeed  the  editor  refers  :  '  Cowley's  description  of 
the  poet  accords  with  the  few  particulars  we  possess  con- 
cerning him.  The  studying  chair  and  the  loose  horseman's 
coat  are  mentioned  by  Aubrey,  who  derived  his  informa- 
tion from  Lacy,  a  well-known  comic  actor  of  that  day, 
and  intimately  acquainted  with  Jonson.  The  credulous 
antiquary  adds  that  the  chair  was  such  as  Aulus  Gellius  is 
drawn  in  '  {Fraser,  XIII,  403). 

Cowley's  description  is  as  follows:  'He  is  now  confined 
entirely  to  his  apartments,  rarely  wandering  further  than 
from  his  bed  to  his  studying  chair,  which  is  of  straw,  and 
covered  with  a  cloth  wrapper  such  as  the  old  country 
wives  use.  We  found  him  wrapped  in  a  large  and  loose 
great  coat,  with  slits  under  the  arms,  like  those  we  have 
often  seen  at  Newmarket.  His  face,  once,  as  I  have  been 
told,  very  fair  and  beautiful,  is  now  roughened,  as  it  were, 


• — TO 

by  a  scorbutic  eruption,  to  which  he  has  long  been  subject. 
His  eyes  are  rather  grave  and  thoughtful  than  bright, 
and  one  seemed  to  me  somewhat  bigger  than   the  other.' 

Compare  Aubrey  (Clarendon  Press  ed.  1898,  II,  12  ff.) 
'  He  was  (or  rather  had  been)  of  a  clear  and  faire  skin  ; 
his  habit  was  very  plaine.  I  have  heard  Mr.  Lacy,  the 
player,  say  that  he  was  wont  to  wear  a  coate  like  a  coach- 
man's coate,  with  slitts  under  the  arme-pitts.  ...  I  have 
seen  his  studyeing  chaire,  which  was  of  strawe,  such  as 
old  women  used,  and  as  Aulus  Gellius  is  drawen  in.'  On 
p.  14  of  Clark's  Aubrey  is  to  be  found  the  note  about 
Jonson's  eyes,  which,  suggests  the  editor,  'may  come 
from  that  "  Chronicle  of  the  stage,"  as  reported  to  Aubrey 
by  John  Lacy.' 

'  B.  Jonson  ;  one  eye  lower  than  t'other  and  bigger.' 
'  Ben  Jonson  had  one  eie  lower  than  t'other,  and  bigger, 
like  Clun,  the  player.' 

The  conversation  of  Ben  Jonson  in  this  letter  is  ob- 
viously based  upon  Drummond  of  Hawthornden's  con- 
versation with  Ben  Jonson,  as  even  the  most  casual  reader 
would  note  at  a  glance. 

'  Our  conversation  turned  upon  the  Muses,'  the  Cowley 
letter  has  it,  'and  he  spoke,  as  his  custom  is,  with 
great  admiration  of  Donne,  repeating  from  the  "  Calm  " 
two  lines,  which  he  said  were  admirably  descriptive  of 
unbroken  stillness  : 

"  In  the  same  place  lay 
Feathers  and  dust — to-day  and  yesterday."' 

In  a  foot-note,  the  editor  of  the  letters  calls  attention  to 
the  fact  that  Drummond  of  Hawthornden  has  printed 
these  verses  incorrectly  ;  clearly  a  blind  to  mislead  the 
unwary  reader. 

Compare  Conversations  zuith  William  Drnnunond,  Shakes- 
peare Society,  London,  1842,  p.  8. 

'Cowley.'  *"  My  friend  Donne,"  he  said,  '■'  will  perish 
through  the  ignorance  of  his  readers  ;  his  oracles  require 
an  interpreter."  ' 


•II- 


Convcrsatioiis,  p.  15.  'That  Donne  himself  for  not  being 
understood,  would  perish.' 

'  Cowley.'     'after  all,  Daniel  was  nothing  but  a  verser.' 

Conversations,  p.  2.  '  Samuel  Daniel  was  a  good,  honest 
man,  but  no  poet.' 

So  much  for  the  internal  evidence.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  second  article  [Frascr,  vol.  XIV),  the  editor  enters 
upon  a  criticism  of  the  Davideis,  and  closes  with  a  promise 
to  produce  more  letters  containing  '  Interesting  notices  of 
Cowley's  reappearance  in  London.'  But  here  all  trace 
of  the  letters  disappears.  More  remarkable  still,  in  the 
contemporary  literature  of  that  period  there  is  absolutely 
no  reference  to  these  letters,  even  though  the  editor 
boldly  says  that  they  would  be  hailed  with  delight  by 
Mr.  Disraeli  in  his  forthcoming  History  of  Literature.  In 
the  Amenities,  however,  published  in  1S40,  no  mention  is 
made  of  this  treasure  trove. 

Equally  puzzling  was  the  fact  that  not  one  of  the  recent 
editors  and  critics  of  Cowley  had  taken  note  of  these 
so-called  'Familiar  letters'  in  Fraser.  To  resolve  my 
doubts  I  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Leslie  Stephen,  Dr. 
Richard  Garnett,  of  The  British  Museum,  and  Rev.  A. 
B.  Grosart,  stating  the  facts  of  the  case  and  requesting  an 
expression  of  opinion.  They  were  unanimous  in  agreeing 
with  my  first  supposition  that  the  letters  were  but  clever 
forgeries. 

The  question  then  arose,  what  could  have  been  the 
motive  for  foisting  these  supposititious  letters  upon  the 
public?  Dr.  Garnett  of  the  British  Museum  I  have  to 
thank,  not  only  for  his  kind  reply  to  my  letter  of  inquiry, 
but  also  for  the  suggestion  of  the  authorship  of  these 
'  Cowley  Letters.'  One  has  to  take  only  a  brief  glance  at 
the  majority  of  articles  in  Fraser  (vols.  XIII  and  XIV)  to 
discover  their  real  character.  In  the  January  number  for 
instance,  the  first  sixty-two  pages  are  devoted  to  a  mock 
Parliament  of  the  Fraserians,  in  which  the  principal  speak- 
ers are  Oliver  Yorke,  Mr.  T.  Moore,  Mr.  E.  L.  Bulwer, 
Mr.    Alaric    Attila    Watts,    The    Ghost   of    Goethe,    Dr. 


— 12 — 

Southey,  Mr.  T.  Carlyle,  Mr.  Lockhart,  The  Ghost  of 
Coleridge,  Sir  Edgerton  Brydges,  Mr.  Wordsworth,  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  etc.,  etc.  In  fact,  from  this  wonderful  Par- 
liament Mr.  Kendrick  Bangs  might  have  easily  obtained 
many  hints  for  his  Houseboat  on  the  Styx.  In  this  article 
appears  very  prominently  the  name  of  FatJier  Front — F.  S. 
Mahony  —  a  name  intimately  associated  with  Eraser's 
Magazine  between  the  years  1834  and  1836  inclusive. 

Francis  S3'lvester  Mahony  (1804-1866),  the  Bohemian 
Scholar  priest,  was  born  at  Cork  in  Ireland,  in  1804.  His 
life,  full  of  pathos  and  romantic  adventures,  is  sympatheti- 
cally portrayed  by  Mr.  Charles  Kent,  Barrister-at-law.' 
Having  pursued  his  early  education  in  the  Jesuit  College 
of  St.  Acheul,  at  Amiens,  and  in  the  Jesuit  Parisian  Semi- 
nary in  the  Rue  de  Sevres,  where  he  became  marvel- 
ously  skilled  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  he 
removed  to  Rome  in  order  to  complete  his  studies  in  the 
Jesuit  College  there.  Here  his  health  gave  way,  and  he 
was  forced  to  return  to  his  native  land,  before  attaining 
the  great  desire  of  his  life,  ordination  to  the  priesthood. 
His  four-months'  experience  as  Master  of  Rhetoric  at 
Clongowes  Wood  College,  with  John  Sheehan,  the  Irish 
Whiskey  Drinker  and  others  of  that  stamp,  reads  like  a 
chapter  from  one  of  Samuel  Lever's  rollicking  romances. 
He  returned  to  the  Continent  after  his  unfortunate  escapade 
with  the  convivial  Irish  youngsters,  and  in  Rome,  after 
long  and  persistent  endeavors  on  his  part,  and  resolute 
opposition  on  the  part  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  he  was  finally 
ordained  priest.  He  never  felt  in  full  sympathy  with  his 
profession,  however,  and  gradually  drifted  away  from 
even  the  customary  practices  of  religion.  Literature  was 
a  more  congenial  occupation,  and  he  became  a  contributor 
to  various  magazines  and  periodicals  of  the  day.  His 
connection  with  Fraser''s,  extending  over  a  period  of  two 
years,  began  with  the  publication  of  Father  Pronf s  Apol- 
ogy for  Lent,  in  which  he  recorded  his  Death,  Obsequies, 

'  See  The  works  of  Father  Frout,  ed.  by  Charles  Kent,  London,  1881,  Bio- 
graphical Introduction. 


—  13— 

and  an  Elegy,  April  1834.  From  this  date  appeared  every 
month  Reliqucs  of  Father  Praut,  published  from  his  posthu- 
mous pnpers.  The  remainder  of  his  life  is  the  story  of  a 
Bohemian  journalist,  of  his  wanderings  over  the  European 
Continent,  settling  for  short  periods  at  Rome,  at  Paris, 
and  at  London,  ft  was  in  Paris  that  he  spent  the  closing 
years  of  his  life,  and  it  was  there,  reconciled  to  the 
church,  and  comforted  with  the  consolations  of  religion, 
that  he  breathed  his  last,  Ma}^  18,  1866. 

During  the  period  1834-1836,  Francis  Mahony  was  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  contributors  to  Frascrs^  and  his 
Religiies,  we  are  told,  formed,  month  by  month,  the  chief 
attraction  of  the  magazine.  The  versatility  of  his  genius 
was  astonishing,  from  the  broadest  kind  of  burlesques  to 
the  tenderest  of  lyrics.  His  favorite  amusement,  how- 
ever, among  all  his  surprising  literary  freaks,  was  to  trans- 
late into  Latin  or  French  the  poems  of  some  well-known 
English  writer,  and  then  to  accuse  the  original  author 
of  plagiarism, — see  especially  The  Rogueries  of  Tom.  Moore. 

Now  with  such  an  able  contributor,  whose  audacity 
knew  no  bounds,  is  it  surprising  to  find  in  Fraser^s  for 
1836  these  precious  '  familiar  Letters  of  Cowley?'  Com- 
pare the  other  articles  in  the  January  number,  and  see 
how  few  serious  compositions  are  there.  In  addition 
to  the  Parliamentary  Report  covering  sixty-two  pages, 
mentioned  above,  there  are  the  following:  Gallery  of 
Literary  Charaeters,  No.  LXVIII.  Regina  s  Maids  of  Honor. 
The  Greek  Pastoral  Poets — TJieocritus,  Bion,  and  MoseJms  (in 
which  may  be  clearly  seen  the  pen  of  Father  Prout),  Mr. 
Alaric  Alexaiider  Watts.  The  Speeeh  of  Mr.  William  Erie, 
Esqr.,  K.  C,  in  the  ease  of  Watts  v.  Fraser  and  Moyes.  Com- 
pare also  in  the  December  number  the  letter  of  Sir  Edger- 
ton  Brydges  to  Oliver  Yorke  (p.  695). 

Thus  the  prima  facie  evidence  seems  very  strong  that 
these  Cowley  letters  were  further  contributions  from  the 
pen  of  Father  Prout,  or  of  one  of  his  associates  among 
that  jovial  band  of  Fraserians. 

Dr.  Grosart  recognized   the  value  of    my   material   by 
publishing  it  in   the  Athenaeum  (July    17,    1897)    without 
2 


—14— 

previously  consulting  me,  and  with  but  scant  acknowledg- 
ment. 

THE   DAVID    THEME    IN    LITERATURE    PRECEDING   COWLEY. 
LEGENDS   AND   TRADITIONS. 

In  addition  to  the  multiplicity  of  incidents  connected 
with  David's  life  in  the  biblical  story,  there  arose  many 
legends  and  traditions  concerning  him.'  Among  these 
may  be  mentioned  :  The  story  of  the  three  historical 
stones  which  cried  unto  him,  as  he  was  on  his  way  to  the 
camp  of  the  Israelites,  to  take  them  with  him.  He 
granted  their  request,  and  it  was  with  these  three  stones 
that  he  smote  first  Goliath,  then  the  right  wing  of  the 
Philistine  army,  and  finally  the  left  wing.  How  David 
invented  chain  armor,  and  by  means  of  his  coat  of  mail 
was  saved  from  Saul,  who  attempted  to  stab  him  as  he 
lay  sleeping.  Of  David's  wonderfully  rapid  growth,  so 
that  Saul's  armor  fitted  him  perfectly,  though  he  was  a 
mere  stripling.  How  Satan  in  the  form  of  a  bird  leads 
David  to  sin  with  Bathsheba.  Of  David  and  the  rhinoce- 
ros. Of  David  and  the  stag,  and  how  the  giant  laid  a 
winepress  upon  David  without  injuring  him.  Of  the  reed 
and  bell  sent  from  God  to  enable  David  to  give  confident 
judgment  in  all  cases  pleaded  before  him.  Finally  the 
wonderful  account  of  David's  death, — how  the  angel  of 
Death  led  the  venerable  king  to  climb  a  tree,  and  then 
meanly  took  advantage  of  him  by  removing  the  ladder, 
so  that  the  good  old  king,  then  well  stricken  in  years, 
attempting  to  descend,  fell  and  broke  his  neck,  and  so  he 
died. 

With  these  legends,  interesting  as  they  are,  the  present 
investigation  has  no  direct  concern,  save  in  so  far  as  they 
serve  to  show  the  great  popularity  of  the  story  of  David. 
All  the  plays  and  poems  to  which  I  have  had  access  are 
based  almost  exclusively  upon  the  scriptural  narrative. 

The    history  of    David  as  contained   in   the    first  and 

'  See  Migne,  Dictionnaire  des  Apocryphes,  II,  191  ff.  ;  Baring-Gould,  Z/'^^wt/j 
of  the  Old  Testament  Characteis,  London,  1871. 


— ^5— 

second  books  of  Samuel  has  proved  a  never-failing  source 
of  inspiration  for  early  morality  plays  and  for  later 
dramas  and  poems  in  the  literature  of  Europe  and  of  Eng- 
land. An  enumeration  and  classification  of  these  plays 
and  poems,  such  as  Alexander  von  Weilen  has  made  for 
the  Joseph  theme,'  would  be  a  difficult  task,  beyond  the 
scope  of  this  investigation.  What  is  here  attempted,  is 
an  enumeration  of  some  of  the  more  important  David 
themes  in  the  poetry  and  drama  of  England  and  of 
Europe,  and  a  brief  review  of  such  as  may  have  directly 
or  indirectly  influenced  Cowley.  The  attempt  will  also 
be  made  to  show  how  in  the  Davideis,  the  David  and  the 
Joseph  themes  came  into  contact. 

That  the  Biblical  history  of  David  was  an  abundant 
source  of  inspiration  for  later  writers  is  shown  in  the  fact 
that  it  branches  out  into  no  less  than  six  distinct  and 
important  streams  :  David  and  Saul  (David  Persecuted), 
David  and  Goliath,  David  and  Jonathan,  David  and  Bath- 
sheba,  David  and  Absalom,  and  David  and  Nabal,  besides 
such  scenes  as  the  crowning  of  David,  and  the  marriage 
of  David. 

As  to  the  relative  popularity  of  these  various  episodes, 
it  is  difficult  to  reach  a  definite  conclusion,  on  account  of 
the  limited  material  to  which  I  have  had  access.  Judged 
solely  by  the  number  of  the  plays,  the  persecution  of  David 
by  Saul  and  the  contest  between  David  and  Goliath 
seem  to  have  been  the  most  attractive  themes.  Next  in 
importance  comes  David's  adultery  with  Bathsheba. 
Alexander  von  Weilen,  Der  cigyptische  Josepli,  vorzvort, 
points  out  the  fact  that  three  Biblical  subjects  held  almost 
complete  and  undisputed  possession  of  the  stage  during 
the  sixteenth  century:  namely,  The  Prodigal  Son,  Susan- 
nah, and  Joseph.  In  the  first  case,  he  goes  on  to  show, 
the  dramatic  effect  is  greatest,  for  here  we  have  real  sin 
to  be  atoned  for,  while  in  the  case  of  Susannah  and  Joseph 
we  have  innocence  unjustly  accused. 

'  See  Alexander  von  Weilen,  Der  cigyptische  Joseph  im  Drama  des  XVIten 
Jahrhunderts,  ein  Beit7-ag  zur  vergleichenden  Litteraturgeschichte,  Wien,   1887. 


— 16— 

In  close  connection  with  the  Prodigal  Son  among  the 
courtesans  and  his  subsequent  repentance,  appears  David's 
sin  with  Bathsheba  and  his  later  hearty  contrition;  and 
Saul's  cruel  and  unreasonable  persecution  of  David  arouses 
for  the  latter  the  same  pit}'  among  the  spectators  that 
would  be  felt  for  Joseph  and  Susannah  unjustly  accused. 
Finally,  David's  victory  over  Goliath, — the  triumph  of 
skill  over  brute  strength,  of  right  over  might, — would  be 
of  never-failing  interest  to  all  classes  of  people. 

The  following  list,  though  it  does  not  claim  to  be  com- 
plete, is  of  value  in  showing  the  extent  and  popularity  of 
the  David  theme  in  literature  preceding  Cowley. 

Fifteenth  Century.  The  earliest  extant  drama  concerning 
David  appears  in  Rothschild's  Mistere  du  Viel  Testament^  Paris, 
1877  ff.j  IV,  76  ff.     It  belongs  to  the  end  of  the  15th  century. 

Sixteenth  Century. 

1500  La  rapresentatio77e  della  distrtictione  di  Saul  et  del 
pidto  di  Dauii.  Finita  la  rappresejitatione  della  //  battaglia  de 
filistei  et  della  distru  jj ctione  di  Saul.  s.  1.  n.  d.  [vers  1500].  In-4. 
Again  in  1547,  1559,  and  ca.  1600. 

1538  God's  Promises,  A  Tragedye  or  Enterlude,  manyfest- 
ing  the  chefe  promyses  of  God  unto  Man  in  all  Ages  of  the 
olde  lawe,  from  the  fall  of  Adam  to  the  Incarnacyon  of  the 
Lorde  Jesus  Christ.  Compyled  by  John  Bale,  Anno  Domini 
1538,  8vo.     See  Dodsley's  Old Eng.  Plays,  London,  1825,  I,  i  flf. 

David  and  Absalom,  a  Tragedy  in  five  acts.  Attributed  to 
Bale.  See  Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxxi  ;  Halliwell,  Diet,  of  Old  Eng. 
Flays,  London,  i860,  p.  70.  (This  play,  however,  is  not  men- 
tioned among  Bale's  works.) 

1545  Ein  schone  trostliche  Historia  von  dem  Jiingling 
David  unnd  dem  mutwilligen  Goliath,  gehalten  zu  wienn  inn 
Osterreich  durch  wolffgang  schmeltzel  burger  daselbst  und 
Schiilmaister  zun  Schotten,  &c.  Gedruckt  zu  Wien  i?i  Osterreich 
durch  Hans  Singriener.     See  Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxxiv. 

1549  Nabal.  Rod.  Gualteri  Tigurini  Comoedia.  Absque 
noia  [Tiguri  circa  1549].  In-S.  See  Rothschild,  IV,  Ivii. 
Another  edition,  Mylium,  1562. 

1550  Nabal.  Ein  schdn  Christenlich,  lustig,  vnn  Kurtz- 
wylig   Spil,    erstlicli    durch   den    Eervvirdigen    vnnd    wollge- 


leerten  Herren  Rudolffen  Walthern,  ausz  dem  ersten  buch 
Samuelis,  des  25  Cap.  gezogen,  in  ein  Latinische  Comediam 
gestelt,  niiwlich  aber  von  einer  Eerlichen  loblichen  Burger- 
schafft  zu  Schaffhusen,  auff  den  16.  tag  Howmonats,  des  1559 
jars,  Teiitsch  gespilt  vnnd  gehalten.  Getruckt  zu  Miilhiisen  im 
oberen  Elsasz  durch  Peter  Schmid.  Anno  M.D.LX.  In-8.  See 
Rothschild,  IV,  Iviii. 

1551  Dasz  alle  hohe  gewaltige  Monarchien  von  Gott  ein- 
gesetzt  vnd  geordnet,  die  grossen  mechtigen  Potentaten  vnd 
Herrn  zu  struffen,  recht  wider  gewalt  auffzurichten,  auch  wid' 
dieselbigen  sicli  niemand  setzen,  verachten  noch  emporen  soli, 
wirdt  durcli  das  exempel  des  Kiinigs  Samuelis  vnd  Saulis 
klarlich  angezeygt  .  .  .  durch  Wolfgang  Schmeltzel  Burger 
zii  Wienn.  Im  155 1  Jar.  [at  end:]  Gedruckt  zu  Wienn  in 
Osterreich  durch  Egidium  Adier,  155 1.  In-8.  See  Rothschild, 
IV,  xlv. 

155 1  Monomachia  Dauidis  et  Goliae.  Tragico-comoedia 
noua  simul  et  sacra.  Authore  lacobo  Schoeppero  Tremoniano. 
Antuerpice  Joannes  Lathis,  155 1. 

"  C est probableme7it  la  piece  de  Schcepperus  qui  fut  repre'se?itee  en 
1577^  pd-r  les  e'leves  du  gymnase  de  Copenhague^  See  Rothschild, 
IV,  lix. 

155 1  Ein  tragedi,  mit  vierzehen  personen  zu  agieren,  der 
aufFrhiirische  Absolom  mit  seinem  vatter,  Konig  David  ;  hat 
ftinff  actus.  By  Hans  Sachs. 

[at  end  :]  Anno  Salutis  i^^i  Jar,  am  26  tag  Octobris.  See  Bibl. 
des  Litt.  Vereins  im  Stuttgart,  no,  86-1 11. 

Comedia  mit  10  personen,  der  David  mitBatsebaim  ehbruch, 
unnd  hat  fiinff  actus.  By  Hans  Sachs.     Ibid.,  131,319-341. 

1552  Tragedia  mit  13  personen  zu  recidirn,  wie  Konig 
David  sein  mannschaft  zelen  liess,  unnd  hat  drey  actus. 

By  Hans  Sachs.     Ibid.,  13,  365-401. 

[at  end  :]  Aimo  Salutis  isji,  am  12  tag  Novemb. 

i55i(?)  Tragedie  de  la  desconfiture  du  geant  Goliath, 
A  Lausamie.     s.  d.     [1551?].     In-8.     71   pp.  By  Joachim 

de  Coignac.  See  Migne,  Bict.  des  Apocr.,  II,  195,  note  ;  Roths- 
child, IV,  Ixiv. 

1553  Ein  comedi,  mit  acht  personen  zu  recidiren  :  Die 
Abigayl,  und  hat  V  actus.  By  Hans  Sachs. 

[at  end  :]  Anno  Salutis  MDLIII  atn  4  tag  Januarii.  See  Bibl. 
des  Litt.  Vereins  im  Stuttgart,  173,  70-S6. 


:  — 18— 

1554  Olung  Dauidis  desz  liinglings,  vnnd  sein  streit  wider 
den  Risen  Goliath.  Durch  Valentinum  Boltz  von  Rufifach. 
Gedruckt  zu  Basely  by  Bartholome  Stdhiiliu,  1554.  See  Rothschild, 
IV,  Ixxxv. 

1555  Goliath,  Die  Histori  wie  Dauid  der  liingling  den 
Risen  Goliath  umbbracht  unnd  erlegt  hat.  1st  zu  Bern  durch 
ein  gemeyne  Burgerschaft  gespilt.  Gedruckt  Z7i  Bern  by  Samuel 
Apiario,  1555.  [at  end  :J  Hans  von  Riite.  In- 8.  See  Roths- 
child, IV,  Ixxxv. 

1557  Tragedia  Mit  14  Personen  :  die  vervolgung  Konig 
Dauid    von    dem    Konig    Saul.     Hat    5    actus.  By  Hans 

Sachs.     Niirmberg,  1561 ;  dated,  however,  6  September,  1557. 

See  Rothschild,  IV,  xlv  ;  Bibl.  des  Litt.  Vereins  im  Stuttgart^ 
131,  262-318. 

156 1  A  new  interlude  of  the  ij  synnes  of  Kynge  Davyde, 
licensed  by  T.  Hackett,  1561-62. 

See  Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxxii  ;  Warton-Hazlitt,  Hist.  Eng. 
Poetry,  II,  234;  Hazlitt,  Handbook  Early  Eng.  Lit.,  1867,  under 
Flays. 

1562  Finis  Saulis  et  Coronatio  Davidis,  tragi-comoedia. 

"  Cette  piece  fut  repre'sentee  avec  grand  succe's  par  les  eleves  du 
Clementinum  de  Prague  le  ig  septembre  1362.''  See  Rothschild, 
IV,  XXV, 

1556  Tragedies  sainctes.  Dauid  combattant.  Dauid  tri- 
omphant.  Dauid  fugitif.  Par  Loys  des  Masures  Tournisien. 
A  Geneve,  De  Vimprimerie  de  Francois  Ferrin.  1566.  In- 8.  272 
pp.  Other  editions  printed  at  Antwerp,  Geneva,  and  Paris,  in 
1582,  1583,  1587,  1595.     See  Rothschild,  IV,  Ixv. 

1567  Tragico-comoedia.  Von  dem  frommen  Konige  David 
vnd  seinem  auffrtirischen  Sohn  Absolon  .  .  .  Agiret  zu 
Schwerin  auff  dem  Schlosz  fiir  den  .  .  .  Herrn  Johan  Albrecht, 
Hertzogen  zu  Meckelnburgk,  etc.,  seiner  F.  G.  Gemahl, 
lungen  Herren,  vnd  Frawlin  Vrsula,  gebornes  Frawlin  zu 
Meckelnburg,  Eptissin  zu  Ribnitz,  etc.  Anno  1567,  i.  Sept. 
[at  end  :]  Gedruckt  zu  Litbeck,  durch  Asszverum  Kroger. 
MDLXIX.     In-8de88pp. 

"  La  dedicace  datde  de  Schwerin,  le  dimanche  de  la  Trinite  156^, 
est  signe'e  de  Bernhard  Hederich,  prorecteur  de  I'^cole  de  cette  ville." 
Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxxvi. 

1570     Spel  van  den  Koninglyken  profeet  David.     Composed 


—19— 

by  the  painter  Charles  van  Mander.     Acted  at  Meulebeek  (Bel- 
gium), ca.  1570.     Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxxii. 

1571  Saul.  Ein  schon,  new  Spil,  von  KUnig  Saul,  vnnd 
dem  Hirten  Dauid  :  Wie  desz  Sauls  hochmut  vnd  stoltz 
gerochen,  Dauids  Demlitigkeit  aber  so  hoch  erhaben  worden. 
Durch  ein  Eersamme  Burgerschafft  der  loblichen  Statt  Basel 
gespilet  aufif  den  5  tag  Augustmonats,  Anno  1571. 

At  the  end  of  the  dedication  appears  the  name  of  the  author, 
Mathias  Holtzwart  de  Ribeauville  (Rappoltzweiler).  See 
Rothschild,  IV,  xlvi. 

1572  Saul  le  Furieux, //Tragedie prise  de  la //Bible, //Faicte 
selon  I'art  &  a  la  mode  des  //  vieux  Autheurs  Tragiques.  // 
Plus  une  Remonstrace  faicte  pour  le  Roy  Charles  IX,  //a  tous 
ses  subiects,  a  fin  de  les  encliner  a  la  paix.  //  Auec  //  Hymnes, 
Cartels,  Epitaphes,  Anagrammatismes,  //  &  autres  oeuvres  d'un 
mesme  Autheur.  //  A  Paris  //  Par  Frederic  Morel Imprimeur  du 
Roy.  II  M.D.Lxxii  [1572].  Avec  Privilege  dudit  Seigneur.' 
Prefixed  is  a  discourse  De  Vart  de  la  Tragedie  preceded  by  the 
name  of  the  author,  Jan  de  La  Taille  de  Bondaroy.  The  play 
is  written  in  verse,  and  is  divided  into  five  acts.  Several  edi- 
tions appeared;  1601,  1610.     See  Rothschild,  IV,  xxx. 

1572  Die  schone  biblische  historia  von  dem  heil.  Konigl. 
Propheten  Dauid  vnd  seinem  Sohne  Salamo  spielweise  ge- 
stellet,  durch  Christian  Berthold  von  Brandenburg  Stadt- 
schreiber  zu  Llibben.  Wittenberg^  1572.  In-8.  See  Roths- 
child, IV,  Ixxxvi. 

1572  Konig  Davids  vnnd  Michols  Heurath  und  Hochzeit 
in  ein  Comediam  gefast  durch  Johann  Teckler.  1572.  In-4. 
See  Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxxvi. 

1575  'Audict  an  1575,  les  troys  jours  de  la  Penthecoste, 
fut  jouee  r Histoire  de  David  et  Golias,  Jeant,  audevant  I'eglise 
Sainct  George,  ou  y  eust  grande  compaignie  de  I'eglise, 
noblesse  et  habitans  de  la  ville,  en  grand  rejouyssance.' 

Quoted  from  M^inoires  de  Jean  Burel,  bourgeois  du  Puy,publie's 
par  Augustin  C/iassaing,  Le  Puy-en-Velay,  Marchesson,  1875. 
In-4.     Rothschild,  IV,  Ixviii. 

1578  Du  Bartas.  La  Sepmaine,  ou  Creation  du  Monde. 
Paris,  1578.     See  Seconde  Semaine,  Quatrieme  Jour. 

1579  The  Holie  Historic  of  King  David  ;  wherein  is  chiefly 
learned  those  godly  and  wholesome  lessons,   that  is,   to  have 


20 

sure  patience  in  persecution,  due  obedience  to  our  Prince 
without  Rebellion,  and  also  the  true  and  most  faithful  deal- 
ings of  friends.  Drawn  into  English  Metre  for  the  youth  to 
reade  by  John  Marbeck.  London,  1579.  4to.  See  Watts, 
Bibliotheca  Britannica. 

1580  Among  works  printed  by  Henry  Denham  appears 
David's  Sling  against  great  Goliath ;  a  Sword  against  the 
Feare  of  Death  ;  a  Battel  between  the  Devill  and  the  Con- 
science ;  the  Dead  Man's  Schoole  ;  a  Lodge  for  Lazarus  ;  a 
Retraite  for  Sin.  London,  1580.  i6mo.  See  Watts,  Bibl. 
Brit. 

1582  In  Historiam  Monomachise  Davidis  et  Goliatlii  In- 
quisitio.  By  David  Hostius,  ^/z/.,  1582.  8vo.  See  Watts, 
Bibl.  Brit. 

1583  Saul.  Trauerspiel,  acted  in  Annaberg,  Germany, 
Feb.  17,  1583.     See  Rothschild,  IV,  xlvi. 

1584  Du  Bartas,  La  Seconde  Sepmaine. 

1586  Dauid  sconsolato.  Tragedia  spirituals  Del  R.  Pier 
Giovanni  Brunetto,  frate  di  S.  Francesco  osseruante.  Ifi 
Biorejiza, per  Giorgio  Marescotti.  1586.  Another  edition,  Ven- 
ice, 1605.     See  Rothchild,  IV,  Ixxii. 

1597  David,  virtutis  .  .  .  probatum  Deo  spectaculum  .  .  . 
by  Arias  Montanus  (Benedictus). 

Aeneis  laminis  ornatum  a  I.  T.  &  I.  I.  de  Br}^,  etc.,  with  a 
preface  by  C.  Ritterhusius  [Frankfort]  1597.  See  Cowley's 
reference  to  Arias  Montanus,  Davideis,  Book  II,  note  47. 

1599  The  Love  of  David  and  Fair  Bethsabe.  By 
George  Peele.     London,  1599. 

1600  Monomachia  Davidis  cum  Goliath,  tragoedia  sacra. 
Tragico-comcedioe.   sacrce.   qidnque,    ac   tres   Fabella,   cum  aliquot 

Epigrammatibus.  Author e  Gabriele  latisejiio,  Scholarcha  Abstano. 
Gandani,  Ex  officina  Gualterij  Manilij,  Typogr.  lurati,  ad 
signum  albse  Columbae.     1600.     See  Rothschild,  IV,  lix. 

1600  Kurzer  Auszzug  vnd  Summarischer  Innhalt,  der 
Tragedi  vom  Konig  Saul,  Vnd  Comedien  vom  Konig  Dauid, 
ausz  H.  Schrifft  gezogen.  .  .  .  Gehalten  .  .  .  Inn  Dem  Fiirst- 
lichen  Collegio  vnd  Academia  der  Societet  lesu  in  der  Steyri- 
schen  Haubstatt  Griitz  den  [  ]  tag  Aprilis,  Anno  1600. 
Gedruckt  zu  Griitz^  bey  Georg  Widmanstetter.     S.  d.  [1600].     In-4to. 

Represented  on  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  the  Arch- 


duke  Frederick  with  the  Princess  Palatine  Marie-Anne.     See 
Rothschild,  IV,  xxvi. 

1600  Tragedies  et  autres  CEuvres.  Par  Antoine  Mont- 
chrestien.  Contains  five  tragedies,  among  which :  David  ou 
I'Adultere,  Rouen,  1604,  1606. 

1602     Dauid  victus  et  victor. 

Adultermm :  Zwo  Christliche  Spiele  vom  laster  des  Ehebruchs. 
Von  Ambrosio  Fape,  Pfarrer  zu  KIcin-A»i/nanslebc?t  im  Magde- 
burgischen  (Magdeburg,  1602).     See  Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxxvi. 

1604  Konungh  Da//widhz  Historia  ifran  thet // han  bleff 
smordh  til  Konungh  j //Betlehem  aff  Propheten  Samuel, //in 
til  thes  han  Kom  igen  til  lerusalem, //sedhan  Absalon  dodher 
waar,  Nyli-//ghen  vthsatt  pft  rijm.     Lustigh//att  lasa,  etc. 

Trycktj  Stockholm,  aff  A  mind  I  j  Olufson,  Anno  1604.  Prose  and 
verse,  in  three  acts.  Author,  Thomas  Gevaliensis.  See  Roths- 
child, IV,  xci. 

i6o6  Comoedia  von  Dauid  vnd  Goliath.  Gestellet  durch 
M.  Georgium  Mauritium  den  Eltern.  Von  dem  Autore  mit 
Fleisz  von  newem  durchsehen.  Leipzig,  1606.  See  Rothschild, 
IV,  Ixxxvii. 

1609  Davide  perseguitato.  Tragedia  di  Felice  Passero. 
In  Napole, per  Gio  :  Donienico Ro}icaglioio,i6Qg.  See  Rothschild, 
IV,  Ixxii. 

1612     Three  sermons  wherein  Queen  Elizabeth  is  paralleled 
with  David,  Joshua,  and  Hezekia.     London,  161 2.     8vo. 
By  Valentine  Leigh.     See  Watts,  Bibl.  Brit. 

16 14  Davide,  re  adultero  et  micidiale,  ma  penitente.  Rap- 
presentazione  di  Fra  Michiele  Zanardo.  In  Venezia,  per  Antonio 
Turrini,  16 14.     See  Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxii. 

1616  loseph  Goetzii  eyn  geystliche  Comedia  vom  Goliath. 
Magdeburg,  1616.     See  Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxxvii. 

1620  Dauidis  ^^rumnosum  Exilium  et  gloriosum  Effugium, 
Die  Beschwerliche  Flucht  vnd  herliche  Auszflucht,  des 
vnschuldigen  Koniglichen  Hoffdieners  Dauids,  wie  er  vom 
Konige  Saul  verfolgt,  gllicklichen  entgangen,  vnd  an  dessen 
stadt  zum  Konigreich  mit  Ehren  erhaben  worden.  In  die 
Form  einer  Christlichen  Comedien  vnd  Spiel  verfast,  Gott  zu 
Ehren,  zum  erstenmal  agiret  zu  Baldstedt,  auff  begehren 
etlicher  ehrlicher  Leute  zum  Drucke  vbergeben.  1620.  Von 
Tobia  Kilio  Baldstadensi,  Pfarrer  zu  Eschenberga.  Gedruckt 
zu  Erffurdt,  Bey  Tobies  Fritzschen.     See  Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxxvii. 


— 22 — 

i62o  Francis  Quarles.  Feast  of  Wormes,  etc.  1632  Divine 
Fancies,  edited  by  A.  B.  Grosart,  Chertsey  Worthies^   1 880-1881. 

1628  a  Dauide.  Tragedia  dell'  Accademico  Nascosto  [cioe 
del  F.  Tancredi  Cottone,  Sanese,  Compagnia  di  Gesu].  In 
Roma, per  Gugliebuo  Facciotti,  1628.     See  Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxiii. 

b  David  per  Saulispersecutionem  ad  regnum  Israelis  erectus. 
Ex  Tancredo  Cottono  Soc.  Jesu. 

*  Tragedie  en  cinq  actes  qui  off  re  tin  curicux  melange  du  sacre  et 
du  profane.  Les  personnages  sent :  Pluto,  Sulphurimis,  genius 
itif emails,  Saul,  Jonathas,  Ellab,  Abner,  Joab,  Mosue,  miles,  Capi- 
taneus,  Moab,  Dochim,  pastor,  Charon,  cum  Cerbero,  Nuncii,  Chori.' 
Published  1680.     See  Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxiii. 

1630  The  Muses  Elizium  :  three  Divine  Poems  on  Noah's 
Flood,  Moses'  Birth  and  Miracles,  and  David  and  Goliath. 
By  Michael  Drayton.     London,  1630.     4to. 

1631  David's  Heinous  Sin,  Repentances,  and  heavy  Pun- 
ishments. By  Thomas  Fuller,  D.D.,  London,  1631.  8vo. 
See  Grosart's  edition :  Poems  atid  Translations  in  verse,  Liver- 
pool, 1868.     Privately  printed. 

1632  a  II  Gigante.  Rapprezentazione  fatta  nel  Seminario 
Romano.  Poesia  del  P.  Leone  Santi,  Sanese,  della  Com- 
pagnia di  Gesu.  In  Roma,  per  Francesco  Corbelleti,  1632.  See 
Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxiii. 

b  Dauide,  rappresentazione  fatta  nel  Seminario  Romano,  e 
altre  poesie  del  P.  Leone  Santi,  Sanese,  della  Compagnia  di 
Gesu.  In  Roma,  per  Francesco  Corbelletti,  1637.  In- 12.  See 
Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxiii. 

1633  True  Happiness,  or  King  David's  Choice.  By 
Wm.  Struther.     London,  1633. 

'  Begunne  in  Sermons,  and  now  digested  into  a  Treatise.' 

1634  Davide  persequitato.  Venetia,  1634.  By  Marquis 
Virgilio  Malvezzi. 

1635  The  Story  of  David  and  Berseba  [a  ballad].  2  pts. 
Black  Letter.     London,  [1635  ?].     '$)et  Roxburgke  Ballads,  I,  88. 

1635  David's  Diamond  Sparkling  in  the  Darke,  or  A  Medi- 
tation on  part  of  the  ninth  Verse  of  the  36  Psalme.  By  P. 
H.     London,   1635. 

1637  A  Translation  from  Italian  into  English  of  II  Davide 
Persequitato,  i.  e.  David  Persecuted.  London,  1637.  See 
Watts,  Bibl.  Brit. 


1637  Israel  //  afflige  //  on  //  Tragecomedie  //  aduenue  du 
temps  //'du  Dauid,  //etc.  A  Geneve  jj  Far  Jacques  Flanchant, 
1637.  With  an  epistle  signed  Jean  Vallin,  Genevois.  See 
Rothschild,  IV,  Ixviii. 

Among  the  dramatis  personre  appears  Alecton,  fiirie. 

1637  David,  hoc  est  vertutis  exercitatissimae  probatum  Deo 
Spectaculum  ex  Davidis  pastoris,  militis  regis,  exulis,  ac  pro- 
plietae  exemplis.  Consisting  of  4^  engravings.  Amstelodami, 
1637. 

1638  Davi[ds]  troubl[es]  remembered  in  i  Absolons  Sheep- 
shearing.  2  Joab  projecting.  3  Bathsheba  bathing.  4  Israel 
rebelling.  5  Ahitophel  hanging.  6  David  returning,  [a  poem]. 
London,  1638. 

The  earliest  drama  of  David  to  which  I  had  access,  and 
possibly  the  earliest  extant,  is  a  French  miracle  play 
belonging  to  the  end  of  the  15th  century,  and  printed  in 
Rothschild's  Le  Mist  ere  du  Viel  Testament,  IV,  76  ff.  Over 
4000  lines  are  devoted  to  the  history  of  David. 

The  scene  opens  with  a  conversation  between  Jesse  and 
his  three  sons,  Helyas,  Amadab,  and  David,  in  which  he 
assigns  to  each  his  path  in  life.  The  two  older  are  to 
follow  the  train  of  'noblesse,'  while  the  youngest  is  to 
become  a  shepherd.  The  varying  fortunes  of  David  are 
then  set  before  us,  following  closely  the  Scriptural  ac- 
count. But  the  poet  has  wisely  omitted  many  tiresome 
details,  and  has  not  hesitated  to  change  the  order  of 
events.  It  is  noticeable  that  the  episode  of  David  and 
Bathsheba  is  given  the  most  prominence. 

BISHOP  BALE.     GocVs  Promises. 

Rothschild,  IV,  Ixxxi,  includes  in  his  list  David  and 
Absoloji,  a  tragedy  in  five  acts,  by  Bishop  Bale,  mentioned 
by  Halliwell,  Diet.  Old  Eng.  Plays,  London,  i860,  p.  70. 
This  was  not  accessible,  but  of  the  other  works  of  Bale, 
Dodsley,  Old  Eng.  Plays,  London,  1825,  I,  ff.,  prints  God''s 
Promises,  A  Tragedye  or  Enterliide,  inanyfesting  the  cheefe 
promyses  of  God  unto  man  in.  all  ages  of  the  olde  lazve,  from 
the  fall  of  Adam  to  the  Incarnacyon  of  the  Lorde  Jesus  Christ. 


—24— 

Conipylcd  by  JoJian  Bale,  Anno  Domini,  i^jS.  8vo.  Doubt- 
less published  abroad  at  Geneva. 

The  drama  is  divided  into  seven  acts,  corresponding  to 
seven  ages  or  periods,  the  seven  promises  of  God  to 
Adam,  Noah,  Abraham,  Moses,  David,  Esaias,  and  John 
the  Baptist.  At  the  end  of  each  act  is  a  kind  of  chorus, 
performed  with  voices  and  instruments,  and  subjoined 
are  a  prologue  and  epilogue,  spoken  by  the  author  Baleus 
himself. 

Each  act  is  devoted  to  a  dialogue  between  the  Creator 
and  one  of  the  characters.  In  act  5  appear  Pater  Coelestis 
and  David,  Rex  Pins.  God  complains  to  David  of  the 
idolatry  of  Israel  and  threatens  to  punish  her.  David 
begs  him  to  stay  his  hand,  and  refers  to  all  the  good  men 
of  Israel  and  their  good  deeds.  The  Lord,  however, 
becomes  more  personal  in  his  accusation,  and  insists  that 
David  himself  must  be  punished  for  his  adultery  with 
Bathsheba.  David  is  then  given  his  choice  among  three 
punishments:  seven  years'  famine,  three  months'  exile,  or 
three  days'  pestilence.  David,  however,  is  unable  to 
choose,  and  leaves  all  to  the  Lord,  who  determines  to  send 
a  pestilence  of  three  days'  length,  during  which  time  three 
score  thousand  men  are  to  die.  David  then  begs  that  his 
innocent  people  may  be  spared,  and  that  he,  who  alone  is 
guilty,  may  be  punished.  This  pleases  the  Lord,  and  he 
makes  a  promise  to  David  that  the  kingdom  shall  descend 
to  his  son,  and  that  this  son  shall  build  a  temple  to  the 
Lord.  David  then  sings  a  hymn  of  praise  to  the  Lord, 
thanking  Him  for  his  victories  over  the  bear,  the  lion, 
and  Goliath. 

This  miracle  play,  though  very  simple  in  construction, 
is  more  ambitious  in  design  than  the  French  mistere,  and 
is  developed  according  to  a  strict  logical  plan.  The 
object  of  the  learned  Bishop  was  not  so  much  to  amuse 
as  to  instruct : 

No  tryfling  sporte 
In  fantasyes  I'ayned,  nor  soche  like  gaudysh  gere. 
But  the  thyngs  that  shall  your  inward  stomake  cheare, 
To  rejoice  in  God  for  your  just3^fycacyon, 
And  alone  in  Christ  to  hope  for  your  salvacyon. 


-CO- 


HANS   SACHS  S    PLAYS. 


In  Sachs's  plays,  Saul's  Persecution  of  David,  David 
and  Absalom,  David  and  Bathsheba,  David  and  Abigayl, 
and  David  numbers  his  People,  are  largely  paraphrases 
of  the  Scriptural  text.  The  poet  has  added  nothing  of 
his  own,  either  by  way  of  material  or  manner  of  treat- 
ment. On  the  contrary,  the  Biblical  narrative  has  suf- 
fered at  his  hands. 

DU   BARTAS'S   WORKS. 

Of  no  little  importance  in  the  history  and  development 
of  the  religious  epic  were  the  works  of  Guillaume  de 
Saluste  du  Bartas,  who  flourished  during  the  latter  half 
of  the  XVIth  centur}'.'  Du  Bartas  was  a  strong  Prot- 
estant, and  in  the  great  Civil  War  in  France  in  the  time 
of  Charles  IX  and  Henry  III,  he  warmly  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  Huguenots.  Attaching  himself  to  Henry  IV, 
he  aided  him  on  the  field  and  in  the  council  chamber,  and 
was  sent  as  ambassador  to  the  court  of  Scotland,  where 
King  James  VI  took  a  great  liking  to  him  and  wished  to 
retain  him  in  his  service.  James  was  an  ardent  admirer 
of  his  poems,  and  tried  his  hand  at  translating  L Uranie 
and  Les  Furies^  the  third  part  of  the  first  day  ;  while  Du 
Bartas  translated  into  French  a  poem  of  the  King's.' 

Du  Bartas,  however,  remained  faithful  to  King  Henr}'^ 
to  the  last,  and  at  the  great  battle  of  Ivry,  fought  bravely 
for  the  royal  cause,  and  received  wounds  from  which  he 
soon  afterwards  died  (1590). 

His  principal  work  consists  of  an  almost  complete  his- 
tory of  the  Old  Testament  in  verse.  The  first  part  is  en- 
titled La  Sepmaine,  021  Creation  dii  Monde,  published  first 
at   Paris,   1578,  4to.     The  privilege  of  the   king  is  dated 

'  See  Sainte  Beuve,  Revue  des  Deux  Maudes,  1842,  4th  series,  vol.  29,  pp. 
549  ff.  ;  Frasers  Magazine,  vol.  26,  1842,  pp.  312  ff.  ;  vol.  58,  1858,  pp.  4S0  ff. 

^  The  Exord,  or  preface  of  the  second  week  of  Dtc  Bartas.  The  Fuiies.  His 
Majesties  Poeticall  Exercises,  etc.,  1591.     4to. 

^  La  Lepanthe  de  Jacques  VI,  faicte  Francoise  par  le  Sieur  du  Bartas.  His 
Majesties  Poeticall  Exercises,  etc.,  1591. 


—26— 

Feb.,  1578.  The  second  part  is  entitled  Le  Sccondc  Sep- 
maine,  and  was  first  published  in  1584. 

The  success  of  the  first  part  was  immediate  and  strik- 
ing. It  was  translated  into  Latin,  Italian,  Spanish,  Dutch, 
and  English,  and  went  through  thirty  editions  in  less 
than  six  years,  so  that  the  fame  and  influence  of  Du 
Bartas  spread  abroad  over  England  as  well  as  over 
Europe.  Even  Milton  was  a  reader  and  admirer  of  the 
Divine  Weeks. 

Joshua  Sylvester,  an  English  poet  of  some  note,  trans- 
lated portions  of  Du  Bartas's  poem  as  early  as  1591,  only 
one  year  after  the  French  poet's  death.'  It  was  not, 
however,  till  1605  that  the  first  edition  of  the  complete 
translation  appeared.  Sylvester  was  peculiarly  fitted  for 
his  task.  He  had  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
French  at  school,  and  he  had  traveled  in  Holland,  France, 
and  German}'.  He  was  a  staunch  Puritan  and  must  have 
been  in  full  sympathy  with  Du  Bartas's  religious  views, 
so  that  his  work  of  translation  was  doubtless  a  labor  of 
love.  At  all  events,  his  translation  was  successful.  It 
won  for  him  the  praise  of  his  contemporaries,  and  served 
to  establish  his  reputation  as  a  poet. 

Sylvester  follows  the  original  closely,  with  an  occa- 
sional change  of  name,  so  as  to  make  the  description 
more  suitable  to  his  own  country.  For  instance,  Du 
Bartas  likens  Eden  to  Paris,  whereas  Sylvester  compares 
it  to  London,  '  that  it  might  be  more  familiar  to  his  meere 
English  and  untravell'd  Readers.'  Moreover,  Sylvester 
occasionally  stops  to  apply  the  story  to  some  recent  polit- 
ical event.  The  expulsion  of  Adam  and  Eve  from  Para- 
dise, for  instance,  is  applied  to  the  expulsion  of  the 
Spaniards  from  Cadiz.  On  the  whole,  however,  it  is  a 
faithful  translation. 

Sylvester  was  not  the  only  English  translator  of  Du 
Bartas.  In  1596  there  appeared  at  London  a  translation 
of  part  of  the  Second   Week  by  the  famous  Anglo-Saxon 

1  See  Arber,  Transcript  of  the  Stationers'  Register ;  Grosart's  Sylvester, 
Chertsey  Worthies,  Memorial-Intro.,  pp.  XII-XIII. 


—z-j— 

Scholar  William  L'Isle,  with  the  long  and  learned  Com- 
mentary of  Simon  Goulart  Senlisien.  A  more  complete 
translation  by  the  same  scholar,  including  the  end  of  the 
fourth  book  of  Adam  and  all  of  the  four  books  of  Noah, 
was  published  at  London  in  1625.  There  were  also  other 
translations  of  portions  of  this  monster  poem  by  J. 
Winter,  London,  1604;  Thomas  Lodge,  1621  ;  and  a 
Latin  rendering  at  Edinburgh,  1600.  Of  Du  Bartas's 
Judith  the  translation  of  T.  Hudson  appeared  at  Edin- 
burgh in  1584;   London,  1608  and  161 1. 

The  first  part  of  this  poem,  La  Sepmame,  is  divided  into 
seven  days,  to  represent  the  week  of  creation  :  (i)  Chaos. 
(2)  The  Elements.  (3)  The  Sea  and  Earth.  (4)  The 
Heavens;  Sun,  Moon,  etc.  (5)  Tne  Fishes  and  Fowls. 
(6)  The  Beasts  and  Man.  (7)  The  Sabbath.  To  the  edi- 
tion of  1588  are  prefixed  the  first  two  chapters  of  Genesis 
to  serve  as  the  argument  of  the  poem. 

This  first  part,  containing  more  than  six  thousand  lines, 
is  almost  encyclopaedic  in  content.  Not  satisfied  with 
mentioning  hail  or  snow  or  wind  among  the  created 
elements,  the  poet  must  enter  into  a  long  and  involved 
discussion  as  to  the  origin  of  each  ;  likewise  of  birds  and 
beasts  and  fishes ;  so  that  Du  Bartas  has  given  us  a  store- 
house of  mediaeval  science  and  folk-lore.  At  every  oppor- 
tunity he  has  stopped  to  bring  in  elaborate  theological 
discussions, — for  example,  as  to  the  essence  of  God  and 
the  nature  of  the  Trinity, — for  the  aim  of  the  poet  has 
been  to  instruct  as  well  as  to  amuse.  The  poem  has  been 
made  still  more  compendious  by  Simon  Goulart  de  Senlis, 
who  has  added  to  each  book  a  summary  at  the  beginning, 
marginal  notes,  and  at  the  end,  full  explanation  of  all 
difficulties. 

The  second  part,  La  Seconde  Sepmaine,  was  also  divided 
into  seven  days,  to  form  a  second  week.  Here  the  poet's 
design  was  a  vast  one  ;  he  intended  to  treat  the  whole 
Biblical  history  as  contained  in  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments.    He  died,  however,  before  he  could  carrv  out  his 


—28— 

extensive  scheme ;  so  that  he  was  enabled  to  complete 
only  the  first  four  parts,  or  days  of  the  week. 

Each  day  is  devoted  to  the  life  of  a  prophet  or  of  a  holy 
man  of  Israel  :  (i)  Adam.  (2)  Noah.  (3)  Abraham.  (4) 
David.  (5)  Zedechiah.  (6)  Messias.  (7)  Th'  Eternall  Sab- 
bath. '  But  of  the  three  last,  Death  (preventing  Our 
Noble  Poet)  hath  deprived  us.' 

The  first  day  is  divided  into  four  parts  :  (i)  Eden.  (2) 
The  Imposture.  (3)  The  Furies.  (4)  The  Handy-Crafts. 
Here  we  have  an  elaborate  treatment  of  the  fall  of  man. 
The  poet  begins  with  a  long  description  of  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  containing  some  very  pretty  passages.  Next  is 
narrated  how  the  devil  plotteth  man's  destruction,  and 
clothing  himself  in  a  'Dragon  skin,  all  bright  bespeckt,' 
enters  Eden  and  brings  about  the  fall  of  man.  We  are  told 
then  of  the  discord  brought  about  by  man's  sin,  of  famine 
and  war  and  sickness  summoned  as  a  result  of  man's  dis- 
obedience. Finally  the  poet  relates  the  first  manner  of  life 
of  Adam  and  Eve  after  their  fall,  and  tells  of  Cain  and 
Abel  and  of  the  various  useful  inventions  made  by  man. 
The  whole  occupies  nearly  three  thousand  lines  in  Sylves- 
ter's translation. 

The  second  day,  Noah,  is  divided  into  four  parts  :  (i) 
The  Ark.  (2)  Babylon.  (3)  The  Colonies.  (4)  The  Col- 
umnes. 

The  third  day,  Abraham,  is  divided  into  four  parts: 
(i)  The  Vocation.  (2)  The  Fathers.  (3)  The  Law.  (4) 
The  Captains. 

The  fourth  day,  David,  is  divided  into  four  parts:  (i) 
The  Trophies.  (2)  The  Magnificence.  (3)  The  Schism. 
{4)  Decay. 

Du  Bartas  was  a  religious  poet  but  not  a  mystic,  and 
he  contended  for  the  use  of  Biblical  themes  as  the  only 
proper  subjects  for  verse.  His  Uranie  is  an  address  to  the 
Heavenly  Muse,  a  powerful  plea  for  the  employment  of 
sacred  themes  in  poetry.  As  a  consequence  he  was  ex- 
tolled as  the  one  'Qui  Musas  ereptas  profanae  lasciviae 
sacris  montibus  reddidit;  sacris  fontibus  aspersit ;  sacris 
cantibus  intonuit.' 


—29— 

In  his  own  words : 

Profanes  ecrivans,  vostre  impudique  rime 
Est  cause  que  Ton  met  nos  chantres  mieux-disans 
Au  rang  des  basteleurs,  des  boufons,  des  plaisans  ; 
Est  qu'encore  moins  qu'eux  le  peuple  les  estime. 

Que  Christ,  comme  Homme-Dieu,  soil  la  croupe  jumelle 
Sur  qui  vous  sommeillez.     Que,  pour  cheval  aile 
L'Esprit  du  Trois  fois. 

Cowley  felt  the  same  inspiration  of  the  Heavenl}^  Muse, 
and  declared  that  the  Muse  had  been  debased  by  poems 
upon  profane  and  lascivious  subjects.  '  Amongst  all  the 
holy  and  consecrated  things  which  the  Devil  ever  stole 
and  alienated  from  the  service  of  the  Deity,'  are  his  im- 
passioned words  in  his  general  preface  to  his  work,  '  there 
is  none  so  long  usurpt  as  poetry.  ...  It  is  time  to  baptize 
it  in  Jordan,  for  it  will  never  become  clean  by  bathing  it 
in  the  waters  of  Damascus.'  His  divine  mission  to  purify 
poetry  is  also  seen  clearl}^  in  the  Davidcis,  I,  37  ff. 

Too  long  the  Muses'  land  hath  heathen  been  ; 
Their  gods  too  long  were  devils,  and  virtues  sin, 
But  thou.  Eternal  Word,  hath  called  forth  me, 
Th'  Apostle  to  convert  that  world  to  thee. 

Cowley  and  Du  Bartas  had  much  in  common.  The 
French  poet  gave  up  his  very  life  to  the  cause  of  Protes- 
tantism and  of  his  royal  master.  Cowley  was  a  staunch 
Royalist,  even  at  the  University,  and  in  a  few  years,  he 
too  was  to  devote  his  time  and  his  talents  to  the  service 
of  his  king.  Moreover,  as  shown  above,  both  had  the 
same  conception  of  the  moral  purpose  of  poetry.  There 
was  thus  much  in  the  life  of  the  French  poet  to  arouse  the 
sympathy  of  the  young  Cambridge  student.  On  the 
whole,  then,  we  should  expect  to  find  no  slight  influence 
of  Du  Bartas  upon  Cowley's  religious  epic,  the  Davideis. 

Of  especial  interest  in  connection  with  the  Davideis  is 
Du  Bartas's  histor}^  of  David  as  contained  in  the  Fourth 
Day  of  the  second  week,  part  first,  entitled  Les  Trophees. 
In  the  preceding  part,  Les  Capitaines,  the  people  had  de- 
*  3 


— 30— 

manded  a  king,  Saul  had  been  chosen  and  anointed  (11. 
879  to  end).  The  poet  makes  much  of  this  election  of  the 
King-.  It  is  debated  in  full  assembly, — first,  a  Plebeian 
makes  a  declamation  for  a  Democracy,  or  People-Sway; 
next,  a  Reverend  Senator  speaks  for  an  Aristocracy,  or  a 
rule  of  a  chosen  synod  of  the  best  men  ;  finally,  a  noble 
young  prince  pleads  for  a  Monarchy,  or  the  Sovereignty 
of  a  king.  Cowley,  Book  IV,  follows  the  Biblical  account 
more  closely.  In  Les  Trophees,  the  history  of  Saul  is  con- 
tinued :  In  the  opening  lines,  the  rejection  of  Saul  is 
related  and  the  election  of  David  in  his  stead.  The  poet 
states  these  facts  in  a  few  lines,  and  then  proceeds  at  once 
to  David's  visit  to  the  camp  of  the  Israelites  and  to  his 
contest  with  Goliath.  To  this  Du  Bartas  devotes  over 
three  hundred  lines  including  man}'  elaborate  similes  and 
comparisons.  Next  the  poet  recounts  Saul's  envy  of  David 
and  Jonathan's  love  for  him.  Nothing,  however,  is  said 
of  David's  marriage.  Much  is  made  of  Saul's  visit  to  the 
witch  of  Endor,  to  which  about  a  hundred  lines  are  given, 
in  addition  to  a  disquisition  upon  the  devil  and  upon  evil 
spirits  in  general.  The  poet  is  careful  to  show  that  the 
shade  summoned  up  by  the  witch  could  not  have  been 
Samuel,  for  devils  have  no  power  over  saints;  it  must, 
therefore,  have  been  the  Prince  of  darkness  himself  that 
appeared  and  spoke  to  Saul.  The  relation  of  the  death 
of  Saul  and  of  Jonathan  occupies  only  a  few  lines,  and  then 
follows  a  long  enumeration  of  David's  virtues,  together 
with  a  consideration  of  the  excellence  of  his  Psalms.  The 
rest  of  the  book  treats  of  David's  adultery  with  Bath- 
sheba  (II.  887-1094).  The  poet,  moreover,  take  occasion 
to  compare  to  David  King  James  VI  of  Scotland,  to  whose 
court  Du  Bartas  had  been  sent  by  Henry  IV  of  France 
(see  above).  The  book  closes  with  an  account  of  the  pes- 
tilence inflicted  upon  David,  as  a  consequence  of  his  sin, 
and  with  an  application  of  this  pestilence  to  France  ;  in 
Sylvester's  translation,  to  England. 

The  remarks  of  Simon  Goulart  de  Senlis,  the  editor  of 
Du  Bartas,  in  his  summary   prefixed   to  this  book,  are  of 


—31— 

great  importance  in  connection  with  the  Davidcis.  '  En 
ces  chapitres,'  he  writes,  '  le  S.  Esprit  nous  fait  voir  las 
merveilles  de  Dieu  en  I'infirmite  de  son  serviteur  David. 
Le  Poete  represente  les  principaux  poincts  d'icelle  his- 
toire  en  onze  cens  vers  ou  environs,  choisissant  ce  qui  lui 
a  semble  plus  digne  d'estre  compris  en  I'oeuvre  par  lui 
entrepris.  Car  une  Davideide  vaudroit  bien  le  cours 
dune  Eneide,  ou  le  nombre  des  livres  de  I'lliade  et  de 
rOdyssee  ensemble  si  quelque  Chrestien  et  docte  poete 
Frangois  vouloit  y  employer  le  temps  et  I'estude,  comme 
un  si  noble  et  fertile  sujet  le  merite.  Mais  le  Sieur  du 
Bartas,  qui  ne  vouloit  ainsi  s'estendre,  ains  visoit  a  se 
maintenir  en  sa  bienseance  accoustumee,  s'est  convena- 
blement  enclos  en  ce  cercle  d'un  petit  nombre  de  vers, 
qui  comprenent  une  infinite  de  chpses,  sous  le  nom  de 
Trophees  ou  marques  des  victoires  de  David  ;  que  nous 
rapportons  a  quatre  principaux.' 

Here  we  have  a  suggestion  for  just  such  a  poem  as 
Cowley  undertook,  and  undertook  on  just  such  a  scale  as 
is  here  suggested.  In  fact,  the  whole  design  of  Cowley's 
work,  as  given  by  him  in  his  preface,  seems  very  close  to 
that  of  Du  Bartas.  '  I  come  now  to  the  last  part  which 
is  the  Davideis,  or  an  heroical  poem  of  the  troubles  of 
David  :  which  I  designed  into  twelve  books  ;  not  for  the 
tribes'  sake,  but  after  the  pattern  of  our  master  Virgil  ; 
^nd  intended  to  close  all  with  that  most  poetical  and 
excellent  elegy  of  David  on  the  death  of  Saul  and  Jona- 
than, for  I  had  no  mind  to  carry  him  quite  on  to  his 
anointing  at  Hebron,  because  it  is  the  custom  of  heroic 
poets  (as  we  see  by  the  example  of  Homer  and  Virgil, 
whom  we  should  do  ill  to  forsake  to  imitate  others)  never 
to  come  to  the  full  end  of  their  story  .  .  .  This  I  say  was 
the  whole  design,  in  which  there  are  many  noble  and 
fertile  arguments  behind  ;  as  the  barbarous  cruelty  of 
Saul  to  the  priests  at  Nob,  the  several  flights  and  escapes 
of  David,  with  the  manner  of  his  living  in  the  Wilderness, 
the  funeral  of  Samuel,  the  love  of  Abigail,  the  sacking  of 
Ziglag,  the  loss  and  recovery  of  David's   wives  from  the 


—32— 

Amalekites,  the  witch  of  Endor,  the  war  with  the  Philis- 
tines, and  the  battle  of  Gilboa  ;  all  which  I  meant  to  inter- 
weave, upon  several  occasions,  with  the  most  of  the  illus- 
trious stories  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  to  embellish  with 
the  most  remarkable  antiquities  of  the  Jews,  and  of  other 
nations  before  or  at  that  age.' 

Cowley's  whole  design  was  thus  wonderfully  like  that 
of  Du  Bartas.  Cowley's  poem  was  to  be,  not  simply  a 
history  of  David,  but  a  complete  history  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament. At  the  same  time  it  is  to  be  noted  that  Cowley's 
plan  is  founded  upon  the  Aencid  of  Virgil,  to  whom  the 
English  poet  refers  in  every  matter  of  doubt.  Even  here, 
however,  in  casting  a  religious  poem  in  classical,  yet 
'  heathen,'  mold,  Cowley  follows  the  precedent  of  Du 
Bartas,  who  had  attempted  exactly  the  same  thing  in  his 
epic  \)OQV[\  Jjtdith,  entitled  by  Sylvester,  the  English  trans- 
lator, ^^///z/Z/^'j- i?<r.y«/r.  This  poem,  containing  about  fif- 
teen hundred  lines,  was  written  before  the  Divine  Weeks, 
possibly  about  1565.'  It  was  first  translated  into  English 
by  F.  Hudson,  in  1534,  before  the  publication  of  the 
Second  Week.  The  translation  was  dedicated  to  King 
James,  by  whom  the  work  was  probably  suggested.  It 
was  issued  in  London  in  1608,  and  again  in  161 1.  Hud- 
son's translation  contains  exactly  the  same  number  of 
verses  as  the  original  text.  Sylvester's  translation  ap- 
peared in  1614,  under  the  title  Bethiilias  Rescue. 

For  the  design  and  execution  of  his  poem,  Du  Bartas 
in  his  letter  to  the  reader  thus  excuses  himself  :  '  Ami 
lecteur,  m'ayant  este  commande  par  feu  tres-illustre  & 
tres-vertueuse  Princesse  lanne,  Reine  de  Navarre,  de 
rediger  I'histoire  de  ludith  en  forme  d'un  Poem  Epique  ; 
ie  n'ai  pas  tout  suivi  I'ordre,  ou  la  phrase  du  texte  de  la 
Bible,  come  i'ai  tasche  (sous  toutes  fois  m'eslonger  de  la 
verite  de  I'histoire)  d'imiter  Homere  en  son  Iliade,  Ver- 
gile  en  son  Eneide,  &  autres  qui  nous  ont  laisse  des 
ouvrages  de  seblable  estofFe,  &  ce   pour  rendre  de  tant 

'  See  Sainte-Beuve,  Keime  des  Deiix  Mondes,   1842,  4th  series,  vol.  49,  pp. 
551  ff- 


—33— 

plus  mon  oeuvre  delectable.  Si  I'effect  n'a  respondu  a 
mon  desir,  ie  te  supplie  de  reietter  la  coulpe  sur  celle  qui 
m'a  propose  un  si  sterile  suiet :  &  non  sur  moy,  qui 
ne  lui  pouvois  honnestement  desobeyer.  Tant  y  a  que 
comme  estant  le  premier  de  la  France,  qui  par  un  iuste 
Poeme  a}-  traicte,  en  nostre  langue,  des  choses  sacrees, 
i'espere  recevoir  de  ta  grace  quelque  excuse.' 

Compare  above  the  quotation  made  from  Cowley's 
preface  :  '  which  I  designed  into  twelve  books  ;  .  .  .  .  after 
the  pattern  of  our  master  Virgil.'  But  Cowley  is  much 
more  modest  than  Du  Bartas,  and  is  willing  to  put  the 
blame  of  a  possible  failure  where  it  properly  belongs — 
upon  himself.  '  I  am  farre  from  assuming  to  m3'self  to 
have  fulfilled  the  duty  of  this  weighty  undertaking,'  he 
continues,  'but  sure  I  am,  that  there  is  nothing  yet  in 
our  Language  (nor  perhaps  in  afijy)  that  is  in  any  degree 
answerable  to  the  idea  that  I  conceive  of  it.'  Again 
he  expresses  himself  to  similar  effect,  in  note  3  to  the 
Davideis,  'for  though  some  in  other  Languages  have 
attempted  the  writing  a  Divine  Poem  ;  yet  none,  that  I 
know  of,  has  in  English.'  Thus  he  completely  ignores 
Peele,  Quarles,  Drayton,  and  Fuller,  not  to  speak  of 
others. 

Since  Cowley  and  Du  Bartas  both  imitate  classical 
models,  their  poems  have  much  in  common.  In  both 
poems,  the  same  devices  were  used  for  the  relation  of  past 
events;  sometimes  by  narration,  as  when,  in  the  second 
book  of /wrf'zV/;,  the  Prince  of  the  Ammonites  relates  to 
Holofernes  the  history  of  Israel,  to  which  more  than  half 
of  the  book  is  devoted.  Similarly  in  the  Davideis,  the 
whole  of  the  fourth  book  is  occupied  by  David's  account 
of  the  government  of  Israel.  Again,  whole  histories  are 
wrought  in  tapestry.  In  book  II,  Judith  embroiders 
divine  stories,  and  in  book  V  she  sees  various  histories 
woven  in  the  arras  of  the  tent.  In  the  Davideis  likewise 
this  is  a  favorite  device,  as  in  books  II  and  III.  In 
addition  to  this,  Cowley,  by  means  of  David's  vision, 
relates  a  long  history  of  the  future.     This  general  resem- 


—34— 

blance  in  the  outline  and  in  the  use  of  such  epic  devices 
is  a  natural  consequence  of  the  employment  of  the  same 
classical  model.  The  following  points,  however,  seem 
clearl}'  established  by  the  foregoing-  investigation  :  That 
Du  Bartas  set  the  example  for  Cowley  in  his  treatment 
of  a  religious  epic  in  strictly  classical  form,  and  that 
Cowley  derived  from  Du  Bartas  not  only  the  inspiration 
for  the  Davideis,  but  also  many  helpful  suggestions  as  to 
style  and  treatment  of  the  poem, 

I  have  observed  the  following  more  specific  correspond- 
ences between  Cowley  and  Du  Bartas  : 

And  Saul  himself,  tho'  in  his  troubled  breast 
The  weight  of  empire  la)-,  took  gentle  rest. 

Davideis,  I,  229-230. 

Of  Pharaoh: 

Who  slumbering  then  on  his  unquiet  couch 
With  Israel's  greatness  was  disturbed  much. 

Sylvester's  Translation,  Grosart,  I,  185. 

3d  Part  of  3d  Day  of  I  Week,  11.  92-93. 

Swift  Jordan  started  and  straight  backward  fled, 
Hiding  among  thick  reeds  his  aged  head. 

Davideis,  I,  1.  237-238. 

Clear  Jordan's  Selfe  in  his  dry  oazie  Bed, 
Blushing  foT  shame,  was  faine  to  hide  his  head. 
Sylvester's  Translation, 

Bet/iulia's  Resctie,  1,  1.  51-52. 

Compare  also  Davideis,  1,  70  ff.,  description  of  Env}^  and 
episode  of  Envy  arousing  Saul,  with  Sylvester's  Du 
Bartas,  2d  Week,  3d  Da}',  3d  Book,  The  Lazu,  11.  45  ff., 
description  of  Envy,  and  episode  of  Env)"  inciting  Phar- 
aoh to  rage.  Compare,  too,  with  this  same  passage  of 
Cowley,  the  pictures  of  the  furies,  2d  Week,  ist  Day,  3d 
Book,  11.  234  ff.,  and  the  witch  of  Endor,  3d  Week,  4th 
Day,  ist  Book,  11.  624  ff.  (see  below,  p.  49).  Finally  com- 
pare Davideis,  I,  441  ff.,  and  note  on  this  passage,  with 
Sylvester's  Du  Bartas,  2d  week,  4th  Day,  ist  Book,  The 
Trophces,  II.  417  ff.,  influence  of  music;  Davideis,  IV,  975 
ff..  Slaughter  of  Philistines,  with  BetJmlids  Rescue,  Gro- 
sart's  Sylvester,  VI,  284  ff. 


GEORGE  PEELE.     Love  of  David  and  Fair  BetJisabc.      1599. 

In  point  of  chronology,  the  next  pla}^  concerning  David 
to  which  I  have  had  access,  is  George  Peele's  Love  of 
David  and  Fail'  BetJisabe,  with  the  Tragedy  of  Absahn, 
printed  at  London  in  1599,  by  Adam  Islip.     410.' 

David  and  Bethsabe  is  considered  Peele's  masterpiece. 
It  has  much  in  common  with  the  earlier  miracle  plays, 
but  it  makes  a  great  advance  as  compared  with  them. 
The  scene  opens  with  Bethsabe  bathing  and  David  above 
admiring  her  charms.  He  sends  Cusay  to  bring  her 
before  him,  and  tells  her  of  his  passion.  He  then  com- 
missions Cusay  to  fetch  Uriah  from  the  army.  Joab  and 
his  hosts  next  appear,  and  Uriah  returns  to  the  king. 
Then  follows  the  episode  of  Ammon  and  Thamar.  Uriah 
comes  before  David,  who  makes  him  drunk,  'And  David 
joys  his  too  dear  Bethsabe.'  Bethsabe  laments  her  folly. 
The  next  scene  is  between  Nathan  and  David,  wherein 
David  repents  of  his  sin.  Absalom  slays  Ammon.  David 
marches  against  Rabath  and  takes  the  town.  He  learns 
of  Absalom's  crime,  but  becomes  reconciled  to  him. 
Absalom,  however,  rebels,  aided  by  Achitophel.  Achito- 
phel's  counsel  is  disregarded,  and  he  slays  himself.  Joab 
slays  Absalom,  and  the  play  closes  with  David's  lament 
over  his  son. 

Fleay  thinks  the  situations  in  the  play  suggestive  of 
Elizabeth  and  Leicester  as  David  and  Bathsheba,  Uriah 
as  Leicester's  first  wife,  and  Absalom  as  Mary  Queen  of 
Scots.  It  remained,  however,  for  the  masterly  hand  of 
Dryden  to  draw  the  wonderful  parallel  between  Absalom 
and  Achitophel  and  the  political  events  of  Charles  II's 
reign. 

Although  Peele  follows  closely  the  main  features  of  the 
Scriptural  account,  he  has  made  more  than  a  mere  para- 
phrase, or  chronicle  history  of  the  Bible.  He  shows  con- 
siderable imagination,  and  he  allows  himself  some  little 

^  See  Fleay,  Eng.  Drain.,  II,  153-154;  Warton-Hazlitt,  Hist.  Eng.  Poetry, 
II,  234  ;  Hazlitt,  Handbook,  p.  451  ;  S)'mond,  Shakespeare's  Predecessors,  p. 
570  ;  Ward,  Eng.  Dram.  Lit.,  I,  211  ff. 


-36- 

freedom  in  the  treatment  of  the  dialogues.     On  the  whole, 
he  has  handled  the  subject  with  dignity  and  propriety. 

FRANCIS    QUARLES   ( I  592- 1 644). 

Francis  Quarles  was  a  man  of  very  different  tempera- 
ment from  Peele.  He  was  deeply  religious  like  Du  Bar- 
tas,  and  his  mind  *  was  chiefly  set  upon  devotion  and 
study.'  Like  Du  Bartas  and  Cowley,  he  too  was  a  Prot- 
estant and  a  strong  supporter  of  the  royal  cause;  but  he 
was  altogether  of  a  gloomy  and  puritanical  cast  of  mind. 
He  is  said  to  have  visited  King  Charles  at  Oxford  in  1644, 
and  doubtless  met  Cowley  there.  He  died  September  8, 
1644. 

It  was  chiefly  through  his  Emblems  that  he  secured  his 
reputation  ;  but  his  earliest  poems  were  religious  para- 
phrases of  the  Bible.  His  first  poem,  published  in  1620, 
is  entitled  A  Feast  of  Worines  set  forth  in  a  Poeme  of  the 
History  of  Jonah.  It  is  written  in  heroic  couplets,  and 
contains  1784  lines,  besides  a  Proposition  of  the  Whole,  an 
Introduction,  and  at  the  end,  The  General  Use  of  this 
History.  The  story  follows  the  Bible  closely,  chapter 
and  verse  being  indicated  in  the  margin.  The  poem  is 
divided  into  thirteen  sections,  at  the  end  of  each  of  which 
appears  a  pious  meditation,  in  the  nature  of  a  commentary 
or  sermon  upon  the  text.  His  material  for  these  '  medi- 
tations '  is  drawn  from  the  Bible,  from  the  church 
Fathers,  and  often  from  the  Latin  and  Greek  poets. 

His  other  religious  poems  are:  Hadessa,  or  the  History 
of  Queen  Esther,  1621;  /ob  Militant,  1624;  The  History  of 
Sampson,  163 1  ;  Solomon's  Recantation,  not  published  till 
1645,  but  doubtless  composed  at  about  the  same  time  that 
his  other  religious  poems  were  written.  In  his  Divine 
Fancies,  1633,  he  has  several  short  poems  on  David  :  Saul 
and  David,  II,  9;  David  and  Goliath,  II,  10;  David's  Epi- 
taph on  Jonathan,  II,  13;  David'' s  Choice,  II,  27;  David,  II, 
48  ;  Kai)i  and  David,  II,  71  ;  David,  IV,  39. 

In  his  treatment  of  these  different  poems,  Quarles  shows 
little  or  no  variation;    all  are  equall}^  dull  and  monoto- 


—Z7— 

nous,  all  are  written  in   heroic  couplets,  and  all    contain 
'pious  meditations'  interspersed  throughout  the  story. 

For  the  insertion  of  the  '  Meditations,'  the  poet,  in  his 
preface  to  Hadessa,  thus  justifies  himself:'  'As  for  the 
Manner  of  this  History  (consisting  of  the  Periphrase,  the 
adjournment  of  the  Story,  and  interposition  of  Medita- 
tions) I  hope  I  have  not  injured  the  Matter;  For  in  this  I 
was  not  the  least  carefuU  to  use  the  light  of  the  best  Expo- 
sitors authoritatis  quorum  sum  germanus)  not  daring  to 
go  un-led  for  fear  of  stumbling.  Some  say.  Divinity  in 
verse  is  incongruous,  and  unpleasing:  such  1  referre  to 
the  Psalms  of  David,  or  the  song  of  his  sonne  Solomon,  to 
be  corrected.  But  in  these  lewd  times,  the  salt,  and  soule 
of  a  Verse,  is  obscene  scurrility,  without  which  it  seems 
dull  and  lifeless.  And  though  the  sacred  History  needs 
not  (as  humane  do)  Poetry  to  perpetuate  the  remem- 
brance (being  by  God's  ovvne  mouth  blest  with  Eternity) 
yet  Verse,  working  so  neare  upon  the  soule,  and  spirit) 
will  oft  times  draw  those  to  have  a  History  in  familiarity, 
who  (perchance)  before  (scarce  knew  there  was  such  a 
book).' 

This  recalls  at  once  Cowley's  eloquent  plea  for  the 
employment  of  Scriptural  scenes  and  incidents  as  proper 
subjects  for  poetry.  Cowley  wishes  to  '  recover  poetry 
from  the  service  of  the  devil,'  '  to  baptize  it  in  Jordan,' 
and  'to  restore  it  to  the  kingdom  of  God.'  'AH  the 
books  of  the  Bible  are  either  already  most  admirable  and 
exalted  pieces  of  poesy,  or  are  the  best  materials  in  the 
world  for  it.  Yet,  though  they  be  in  themselves  so  pro- 
per to  be  made  use  of  for  this  purpose,  none  but  a  good 
artist  will  know  how  to  do  it  .  .  .  for  if  any  man  design 
to  compose  a  sacred  poem,  by  only  turning  a  story  of  the 
Scripture,  like  Mr.  Quarles's,  or  some  other  goodly  mat- 
ter, like  Mr.  Heywood  of  Angels,  into  rhyme,  he  is  so  far 
from  elevating  of  poesy,  that  he  only  abases  divinity  ' 
(Preface  of  the  author). 

Very    few    will    dissent    from    this  opinion  of  Quarles. 

1  Complete  works  of  Francis  Quarles,  3  vols.,  Grosart,  Chertsey  Worthies, 
1880,  II.  42. 


-38- 

With  such  narrow  views  as  he  had,  he  could  never  have 
produced  a  work  of  art.  Leaving  aside,  however,  all 
question  as  to  the  merit  of  Quarles's  poetry,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  he  gave  a  great  impetus  to  the  employ- 
ment of  Scriptural  themes  as  subjects  for  poetr}^  and 
doubtless  had  no  little  influence  on  Cowley  in  the  choice 
of  a  religious  subject  for  his  epic. 

GEORGE   SANDYS   (1577-1643). 

George  Sandys  wrote  several  religious  paraphrases  : 
Upon  Job  ;  Upon  the  Song  of  Solomon  ;  Upon  the  Lamentations 
of  Jeremiah.  These  were  published  in  1638.  He  is  better 
known,  however,  by  his  Translation  of  the  Psalms^  pub- 
lished in  1636.  Cowley,  Preface  to  Pindarique  Odes,  thus 
refers  to  this  translation  :  '  The  Psalms  of  David  .  .  .  are 
a  great  example  of  what  I  have  said  :  all  the  translators 
of  which  (even  Mr.  Sandys  himself ;  for  in  spight  of  pop- 
ular error,  I  will  be  bold  not  to  except  him)  .  .  .  are  so 
far  from  doing  Honor,  or  at  least  Justice  to  that  Divine 
Poet,  that  methinks  they  revile  him  worse  than  Shimei.' 

GEORGE    WITHER    (1593-1632)   AND    GEORGE     HERBERT 
(1 588-1667). 

In  this  connection,  as  doubtless  of  influence  upon  Cow- 
ley in  his  choice  of  a  religious  theme,  mention  must  be 
made  of  George  Wither's  tremendous  undertaking,  his 
proposed  Exercises  on  the  Psalms ;  of  his  Songs  of  the  Old 
Testament,  translated  into  English  Measure,  and  of  his 
Psalms  of  David.  We  must  also  bear  in  mind  the  works 
of  '  holy  Mr.  George  Herbert,'  for  whom  doubtless  Cow- 
ley had  a  great  respect  and  regard. 

MICHAEL  DRAYTON.     David  and  Goliath. 

The  earliest  work  of  Michael  Drayton  (i 563-1631)  was 
a  metrical  rendering  of  portions  of  the  Scriptures,  enti- 
tled The  Harmonic  of  the  Chnrch  (or  TJie  Trinmphcs  of  the 
Chiirchc),  published  in  1591.  It  was,  for  some  unknown 
reason,  destroyed,   and  only  one  copy,  belonging  to  the 


—39— 

British  Museum,  is  now  known  to  exist.  Then  appeared 
his  lyrical,  pastoral,  and  historical  poems.  Shepherds'  Gar- 
land, The  Barons  War,  England's  Heroical  Epistles,  The 
Oivl,  Polyolbion,  The  Battle  of  Aginconrt,  Nynipliida.  His 
last  poems,  like  his  first,  were  religious.  They  were  in- 
cluded under  the  title  '  TJie  Mnscs  Elysinm,  Lately  dis- 
covered, By  a  neiv  way  over  Parnassus.  The  passages  therein 
being  the  subject  of  Ten  sundry  Nyniphals,  Leading  three 
Divine  Poems.  NoaJCs  Flood,  Moses,  his  Birth  and  Miracles, 
David  and  Goliah^     1630. 

Although  Drayton  was  a  man  of  unquestioned  virtue, 
he  had  not  the  sombre  religious  character  of  Quarles. 
He  could  look  on  the  bright  side  of  life  and  was  not,  like 
Quarles,  continually  reflecting  upon  the  unworthiness  of 
man.  In  fact  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  he  would  turn 
naturally  to  Scriptural  subjects.  That  the  influence  of 
Du  Bartas  led  him  to  select  such  subjects,  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  In  his  Moses  he  dedicates  his  work  to  Du 
Bartas  and  Sylvester: 

And  thou  translator  of  that  faithful  Muse 

This  all's  creation  that  divinely  song, 

From  courtly  French  (no  travel  do'st  refuse) 

To  make  him  master  of  thy  genuine  tongue, 

Salust  to  thee  and  Sylvester  th}'  friend, 

Comes  my  high  poem  peaceabl}'  and  chaste. 

Your  hallowed  labours  humbly  to  attend, 

That  wreckful  time  shall  not  have  power  to  waste. 

Moreover,  he  strikes  the  same  note  that  we  heard  from 
Du  Bartas,  Quarles,  and  Cowley, — namely,  a  regret  at 
the  debasement  of  poetry,  and  a  determination  to  restore 
it  to  its  proper  sphere. 

Muse,  I  invoke  the  utmost  of  thy  might. 
That  with  an  armed  and  auspicious  wing, 
Thou  be  obsequious  in  his  doubt  less  right 
'Gainst  the  vile  atheist's  vituperious  sting. 

To  shew  how  poesie  (simply  hath  her  praise) 
That  from  full  Jove  takes  her  celestial  birth, 
And  quick  as  fire,  her  glorious  self  can  raise 
Above  this  base  abominable  earth. 


— 40— 

The  use  of  Jove  here  seems  a  clear  indication  of  the 
artificiality  of  his  religious  feelings.  He  was  writing  of 
such  subjects,  not  because  he  felt  himself  moved  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  reform  poetr}^,  but  because  he  thought  it 
best  to  follow  the  fashion. 

'Dr2iy\.oxiS  David  arid  Goliah  is  written  in  heroic  coup- 
lets, and  contains  about  850  lines.  The  poem  begins  with 
an  invocation  to  the  Muse,  and  then  takes  up  the  story  at 
the  time  when  the  Almighty,  displeased  with  Saul  for 
sparing  King  Agag,  had  resolved  to  choose  a  new  ruler 
for  Israel.  Then  follows  a  long  description  of  David 
feeding  his  flock,  and  in  this  enumeration  of  David's  per- 
sonal charms,  the  poet  gives  free  rein  to  his  imagination. 

No  mention,  however,  is  made  of  Saul's  daughters,  or 
of  the  promise  Saul  made  to  bestow  his  daughter's  hand 
on  the  conqueror  of  Goliath.  The  poet  has  added  no 
episodes,  and  he  tells  his  story  with  directness.  He  has 
followed  his  own  fancy  throughout,  and  seems  to  have 
had  no  model  before  him,  either  classical  or  modern. 
Cowley  owes  nothing  directly  to  Drayton. 

THOMAS  FULLER.     David's  Hainous  Sinne. 

The  year  following  the  publication  of  the  Muses  Elysium, 
appeared  David's  Hainous  Sinne,  by  Thomas  Fuller,  D.D. 
The  poem  is  written  in  stanzas  riming  a  b  a  b  ccc.  It  is 
divided  into  three  parts  :  David's  Hainous  Sinne,  47  stanzas  ; 
David's  Heartie  repentance,  26  stanzas  ;  David's  Heavie  Pun- 
ishme7it,  71  stanzas. 

In  the  first  part,  the  story  is  frequently  interrupted  by 
moralizations  of  the  poet.  Into  the  second  part  is  intro- 
duced a  Proces  du  Paradis.  The  Lord  resolves  to  punish 
David,  and  at  once  all  the  elements, — fire,  air,  water, 
earth, — offer  to  be  the  instrumentsof  his  vengeance.  The 
Almighty  appeases  the  strife  of  the  elements,  and  opening 
the  book  of  life,  offers  to  blot  out  David's  name,  but  is  dis- 
suaded by  His  Son,  the  Prince  of  Peace.  At  the  decision 
of  the  Lord  to  pardon  David,  the  fickle  elements  rejoice, 
and  now  offer  to  minister  to   David's  pleasure.     Nathan 


—41— 

is  then  sent  to  David  and  makes  the  King's  '  marble  minde 
to  melt.' 

This  Proccs  du  Paradis  is  clearly  a  remain  of  the  earlier 
Miracle  Plays. 

The  third  part  treats  of  the  episode  of  Ammon  and 
Tamar,  of  Absalom's  vengeance  upon  Ammon,  of  Absa- 
lom's revolt  and  death.  'At  the  close  of  this  performance,' 
writes  Oldys  (Grosart's  edition  of  Fuller,  1868).  'our 
author,  having  subsided  into  the  characters  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  King  James,  and  King  Charles  I,  and  lamented 
the  loss  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  with  the  discords  then 
in  Europe  through  the  wars  in  the  Netherlands,  Denmark, 
etc.,  he  very  properl}'  and  piously  concludes  that  those 
grievances  may  be  bewailed  by  mankind,  but  till  the}'  are 
reversed  by  Providence,  they  are  more  befitting  his /r«j/^rjr 
than  his  pen.' 

Although  this  poem  abounds  in  the  quaint  and  charac- 
teristic conceits  of  Fuller,  it  is  not  altogether  without 
merit,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  Cowley  read  it  with 
appreciation  and  genuine  admiration. 

THOMAS    HEYWOOD. 

That  curious  work  by  Thomas  Heywood,  TJic  Hier- 
arcliie  oftJic  Blessed  A  ngels, —  TJieir  Names,  Orders,  and  Offices, 
—  The  Fall  of  Ljicifer  zvith  his  Angells,  London,  printed  by 
Adam  Islip,  1635,  is  of  some  interest  in  connection  with 
the  Davideis.  That  Cowle}'  was  familiar  with  this  work 
is  shown  by  a  humorous  reference  to  Heywood  (General 
Preface  of  the  Author),  as  '  Mr.  Heywood  of  Angels, 
whose   poem  serves  only   to  abase   divinity '  (see  above, 

P-  37). 

The  Hierarchic  of  the  Blessed  Angels  is  a  poem  in 
nine  books,  entitled  respectively  :  The  Seraphim,  The  Cher- 
ubim, The  Thrones,  The  Dominations,  The  Verities,  The  Poiv- 
ers.  The  Principals,  The  Arch-Angel,  The  Angel.  To  each 
book  is  prefixed  the  argument  in  verse,  and  to  each  of 
these  arguments  is  added  the  name  of  an  angel,  as  follows  : 


—42— 

Uriel,  Jophiel,  Zaphiel,  Zadchiel,  Haniel,  Raphael,  Car- 
mael,  Michael  and  Gabriel.  In  addition  to  this,  there  are 
long  and  elaborate  notes,  '  Theological,  Philosophical, 
Moral,  Poetical,  Historical,  and  Emblematical  Observa- 
tions.' This  work,  containing  over  six  hundred  pages  in 
folio,  is  a  mass  of  learned  references  and  childish  supersti- 
tions. In  the  sixth  book,  TJie  Pozvers,  the  poet  after  de- 
scribing the  revolt  and  fall  of  the  angels,  gives  descrip- 
tions of  hell  drawn  from  the  Bible,  from  the  church 
fathers,  and  from  the  Latin  and  Greek  poets.  In  his 
notes  to  this  book  he  enters  into  a  long  discussion  as  to 
the  nature  of  hell-fire  and  as  to  the  torments  of  the 
damned,  interspersing  throughout  marvelous  ghost  tales 
of  Incubi  and  Succubi. 

Although  the  literar}^  value  of  Hey  wood's  poem  is  very 
slight,  and  although  ever}^  one  will  agree  in  Cowley's 
opinion  that  he  serves  only  to  'abase  divinity,'  he  has 
nevertheless  collected  much  curious  information  of  no 
slight  value  to  the  writer  of  a  religious  epic  such  as 
Cowley  undertook. 

ROBERT     ASHLEY'S     TRANSLATION     OF     V.     MALVEZZl'S 
//  Davide  Persegiiitato. 

In  the  year  1637  (doubtless  the  very  year  in  which  Cow- 
ley was  writing  his  epic),  appeared  at  London  Robert 
Ashle3^'s  translation  of  V.  Malvezzi's  //  Davide  Persegiiitato. 
Ashley  was  a  school-fellow  of  Joshua  Sylvester's  at  Sara- 
via's  school  in  Southampton,  and  may  have  been  inspired 
to  translate  Malvezzi  through  Sylvester's  translation  of 
Du  Bartas. 

Malvezzi  was  for  a  time  in  the  service  of  Philip  IV  of 
Spain,  who  sent  him  to  England  as  his  Ambassador.  On 
account  of  ill-health,  however,  he  was  forced  to  return  to 
his  native  land,  Italy,  where  he  died  at  Bologna,  Aug.  11, 
1654.  His  Davide  was  first  published  at  Bologna  in  1634, 
and  again  at  Venice,  1636.  It  was  translated  into  French 
by   Louys  de   Benoist,  Avignon,  1646,  and  into  Latin  in 


—43— 

i66o.     Of  Robert  Ashley's  English  translation,  subsequent 
editions  appeared  in  1647  and  in  1650. 

In  spite  of  this  array  of  editions  and  translations,  Mal- 
vezzi's  work  was  only  a  running  commentary,  or  set  of 
homilies,  on  the  various  incidents  of  David's  life.  The 
author  holds  up  the  disobedience  of  Saul  as  a  warning  to 
princes,  and  contrasts  it  with  the  humility  of  David. 

FELICE   PASSERO. 

//  David  Pcrsegiiitato,  Tragedia,  published  at  Naples  in 
1609,     Inaccessible.     Not  in  British  Museum. 

Mention  must  be  made  here  of  the  curious  set  of  engrav- 
ings illustrating  David's  life,  entitled:  David,  Hoc  est  Vir- 
t  tit  is  exercitatissiviae  Probatiim  Deo  Spectaculuni,  ex  Davidis 
Past  or  is,  Militis,  Regis,  Exiilis,  ac  Prophet  ae,  Exemplis,  Am- 
sterdam, 1637.  Each  plate  is  accompanied  by  a  short 
Latin  verse  of  four  lines,  similar  to  the  English  Emblems. 
This  is  based  upon  the  more  elaborate  work  of  Arias 
Montanus  with  the  same  title,  dated  1597.  In  Montanus, 
the  verses  are  the  same,  but  the  plates  are  different,  and 
in  addition  there  is  with  each  engraving  a  Paraphrasis,  or 
Explicatio.  In  note  47,  Book  II  of  the  Davideis,  Cowley 
has  a  reference  to  Arias  Montanus,  quoting  his  opinion  in 
regard  to  the  heathen  god  Moloch. 

DAVID'S   TROUBLES,    ETC.       1638. 

Rather  a  poor  series  of  poems  on  David  was  published 
in  1638  at  London,  entitled  :  David's  Troubles  Remembered 
in:  (i)  Absolons  SJieepsliearing ;  (2)  Joab  projecting ;  (3) 
Bathsheba  bathing;  {/!^  Israel  rebelling ;  {^)  A  hit  hop  he  I  hang- 
ing; (6)  David  returning. 

The  first  book  begins: 

I  tell  the  divers  tryalls  of  the  King 
Who  hevenly  hymns  did  to  his  Maker  sing : 
Blest  spirit  that  infus'd  on  him  such  skill, 
Dispose  aright  thine  humble  servant's  quill. 


—44— 

REMARKS  ON  THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  ENGLISH  RELIGIOUS 
EPIC  PRIOR  TO  MILTON  AND  THE  PART  PLAYED  BY 
COWLEY   IN   THIS   DEVELOPMENT. 

The  English  religious  narrative  poem  growing  out  of 
the  lives  and  legends  of  the  saints,  later  developing  into 
the  English  religious  epic  and  reaching  its  most  perfect 
form  in  Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  must  have  influenced  the 
miracle  plays  and  been  in  turn  influenced  by  them.  It 
has  been  seen  how  the  influence  of  the  miracle  plays  per- 
sisted even  through  the  first  quarter  of  the  seventeenth 
century  (see  Fuller,  David's  Haijious  Sinne,  above).  In  the 
miracle  plays  there  appear  early  two  different  lines  of 
treatment,  popular  and  didactic.  Treated  in  a  popular 
way,  these  plays  were  intended  solely  to  amuse  ;  treated 
in  a  didactic  way,  they  came  into  contact  with  the  homily 
and  the  long  religious  poem  like  the  Cursor  Mundi,  itself  a 
precursor  of  Du  Bartas's  Divine  Weeks.  The  Old  French 
Mistere  (above,  p.  23)  is  largely  didactic.  The  poet  en- 
deavors all  through  to  make  clear  the  connection  between 
the  Old  and  the  New  Testament.  In  the  Chester  Plays, 
an  Expositor  appears  between  acts  and  explains  the  alle- 
gorical meaning  of  the  action.  This,  in  fact,  was  the  pri- 
mary object  of  the  early  religious  drama,  to  instruct ;  to 
bring  certain  facts  and  dogmas  of  the  Bible  within  reach 
of  the  common  mind. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  Moralities  often  became  bitterly 
controversial,  as  for  example  in  N.  Wood's  Conflict  of  Con- 
science, 1 581,  in  which  the  hero,  Philologus,  becomes 
ensnared  in  the  foils  of  Rome  (Ward,  Eng.  Dram.  Lit.,  I, 
47).  Bale's  play  God''s  Promises  is  learned  and  didactic, 
written  for  the  sole  purpose  of  developing  a  theological 
argument. 

Du  Bartas's  poems  likewise  are  both  didactic  and  con- 
troversial. In  the  opening  lines  of  the  First  Week,  ist 
Day,  ist  Part,  the  poet  'refute  par  diverses  raisons  la 
curieuse  et  profane  objection  des  atheistes,  qui  demandent 
que  Dieu  faisoit  avant  qu'il  creast  le  monde,'  In  the  first 
part  of  the  second  day  of  the  second  week,  he  enumerates 


—45— 

twelve  answers  of  Noah  to  the  bhasphemies  of  Cham  and  of 
his  fellow  atheists.  In  that  same  book  he  replies  at  length 
to  the  objections  of  the  atheists  who  contended  that  the 
capacity  of  the  ark  was  insufficient  for  Noah,  his  family, 
and  all  brute  creation. 

This  introduction  of  theological  argument  into  a  pro- 
fessedly narrative  poem  is  a  serious  hindrance  to  the 
highest  artistic  development,  a  blot  from  which  even  Mil- 
ton's epic  is  not  free. 

At  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  protest  against 
the  growing  immorality  of  the  stage  was  extended  to 
poetry,  and  Du  Bartas  (as  seen  above)  makes  a  powerful 
plea  for  the  rescue  of  poetry  from  profane  hands,  and  for 
the  employment  of  scriptural  themes  alone  as  proper  sub- 
jects for  verse.  Thus  at  the  opening  of  the  17th  century, 
the  use  of  Biblical  stories  and  episodes  as  proper  subjects 
of  verse  was  a  live  question  in  all  countries.  In  France 
there  was  the  great  struggle  between  the  Catholics  and 
Huguenots.  Italy  was  under  the  tyranny  of  the  popes 
and  of  Philip  the  Second  of  Spain,  and  had  to  furnish 
Philip  with  money  and  men  to  aid  him  in  his  career  of 
bigotry  and  persecution.  The  whole  of  Europe  was  soon 
engaged  in  a  great  religious  struggle,  the  Thirty  Years' 
War,  and  England  in  the  time  of  Cowley  and  Milton  was 
to  be  torn  asunder  by  civil  strife  for  political  and  religious 
freedom.  Men's  minds  were,  therefore,  prepared  for  re- 
ligious poems,  and  the  appropriateness  of  such  themes  as 
Saul's  Persecution  of  David  must  have  been  felt.  Mal- 
vezzi's  II  Davide  Pcrseguitato,  with  its  warning  to  Princes, 
went  through  several  editions  in  his  country,  1634,  1636, 
ff.,  and  was  translated  into  Latin  and  English. 

In  England  during  the  early  part  of  the  17th  century, 
the  soil  proved  fruitful  for  religious  poems.  A  year  after 
Du  Bartas's  death,  Sylvester  began  his  translation,  and 
collective  editions  of  it  appeared  in  1605,  1608,  161 1,  1613, 
1614,  1621,  1633,  and  1641,  William  L'Isle,  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  scholar,  thought  it  worth  while  to  translate  Du 
Bartas,  and  his  rendering  appeared  in  1596,  to  be  followed 
4 


-46- 

by  a  more  complete  one  in  1625.  Other  translations  were 
made  by  Winter,  and  several  translations  of  JitditJi  were 
published  by  Hudson,  all  before  161 2.  Robert  Ashley's 
translation  of  Malvezzi  appeared  in  1637. 

Among-  all  these  religious  poems,  however,  the  David 
theme  was  not  the  least  popular  in  England.  There  were 
poems  of  David  by  George  Peele,  1599;  Francis  Quarles, 
1620  fF.,  Divine  Fancies,  (1633);  Michael  Drayton,  1630; 
Thomas  Fuller,  163 1  ;  yet  from  Bale  to  Hey  wood,  no 
attempt  had  been  made  at  the  true  epic  form.  The  aim 
of  the  poet  was  either  to  make  a  mere  paraphrase  of  the 
scriptures,  hoping  thus  to  popularize  the  Sacred  Word  ; 
or  to  expound  the  Holy  Writ,  using  the  words  of  the 
Bible  as  his  text,  like  Quarles,  '  not  daring  to  go  unled.' 
Peele,  Drayton,  and  Fuller,  though  far  in  advance  of 
Quarles,  and  though  showing  originality  of  treatment, 
made  no  attempt  to  produce  a  finished  epic.  To  Cowley, 
then,  inspired  by  the  example  of  Du  Bartas,  must  be 
given  the  credit  of  having  first  attempted  the  true  epic 
form.  His  conception  was  a  noble  one,  but  his  powers 
were  not  equal  to  the  task. 

COWLEY   AND    MILTON. 

As  an  outcome  of  this  great  interest  in  religious  themes 
was  written  the  most  perfect  religious  epic  of  modern 
times,  the  Paradise  Lost.  Milton  was  undoubtedly  famil- 
iar with  Cowley's  epic,  and  Cowley's  modest  words  at 
the  conclusion  of  his  preface  seem  almost  prophetic  of 
that  great  poem  which  was  so  completely  to  overshadow 
his.  'I  shall  be  ambitious  of  no  other  fruit  from  this 
weak  and  imperfect  attempt  of  mine,  but  the  opening  of  a 
way  to  the  courage  and  industry  of  some  other  persons 
who  may  be  better  able  to  perform  it  thoroughly  and 
successfully.'  In  1658,  two  years  after  the  publication  of 
these  words,  Milton  settled  down  to  the  composition  of 
the  Paradise  Lost,  although,  it  is  true,  he  had  already 
sketched  out  a  plan  nearly  twenty  years  before. 

Masson  {Life  of  Milton,  London,  1880,  VI,  557),  in  dis- 
cussing  Milton's   relation  to   his   predecessors,  remarks: 


—47— 

'  Had  it  been  worth  while,  it  could  have  been  proved 
from  Paradise  Lost  that  Milton  was  no  stranger  to  the 
writings  of  Cowley  and  Davenant.' 

I  have  noted  the  following  correspondences  between 
the  Davideis  and  the  Paradise  Lost  : 

Cowley's  description  of  Goliath's  spear,  Davideis,  III, 
393  ;  and  Milton's  description  of  Satan's  spear.  Paradise 
Lost,  I,  292.  Both  poets,  however,  borrowed  from 
Homer's  description  of  Polyphemus,  Odyssey,  IX,  367  ff., 
and  Virgil's  Aeneid,  III,  659, 

Compare  also  Cowley's  list  of  false  gods,  Moloch, 
Osiris,  Dagon,  etc.,  Davideis,  II,  501  ff.,  with  Paradise  Lost, 
I>  393)  though  it  is  to  be  noted  that  Milton  had  already 
used  this  same  catalogue  of  heathen  deities  in  his  Nativity 
Ode  (1629),  Stanzas  XXII-XXIV. 

Finally  compare  Cowley's  description  of  hell,  Davideis, 
I,  71  ff.,  with  Paradise  Lost,  I,  56-69,  The  weakness  of 
Cowley's  labored  effort,  full  of  his  characteristic  conceits, 
is  only  too  evident  beside  Milton's  picture  of  the  vastness 
and  horror  of  the  gloomy  abyss. 

Though  the  Paradise  Lost  thus  owes  directly  little  or 
nothing  to  the  Davideis,  nevertheless  Cowley's  ideals  were 
lofty,  and  his  very  failures  may  have  proved  instructive 
to  Milton. 

The  next  section  is  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  cer- 
tain poems  concerning  David  subsequent  to  Cowley's. 

POEMS  CONCERNING  DAVID  SUBSEQUENT  TO  COWLEY'S. 

The  Davideis,  though  begun  in  1637,  was  not  published 
till  1656,  when  it  appeared  in  the  first  collective  edition 
of  his  works.  The  great  interest  taken  in  religious  poems 
at  this  period  is  still  further  shown  by  the  fact  that 
another  epic  poem  of  the  troubles  of  David,  called  also 
the  Davideis,  was  begun  and  written  a  few  years  after 
Cowley's.  The  author  was  the  well  known  Thomas  Ell- 
wood  (1639-1713),  the  Quaker  and  the  friend  of  Milton. 
He  entered  into  numerous  religious  controversies  and  pub- 
lished several  volumes.     Among  them    were  Sacred  His- 


-48- 

tory,  or  the  Historical  Part  oj  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
Testament,  published  in  1705  ;  Sacred  History,  or  the  Histor- 
ical Part  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Neiv  Testament,  pub- 
lished in  1709.  His  Davideis  was  first  published  in  1712, 
In  his  Epistle  to  the  Reader,  he  refers  to  Cowley's  poem  : 
'  Till  I  had  wholly  finished  and  transcribed  also  this  poem, 
I  had  not  had  the  opportunity  of  perusing  the  learned 
Cowley's  Davideis,  though  I  had  heard  of  it  and  I  think 
had  once  a  transient  sight  of  it,  before  I  began  this. 
Since,  I  have  read  it  through  with  my  best  attention,  and 
am  very  well  pleased  that  I  had  not  read  it  before  ;  lest  his 
great  name,  high  style,  and  lofty  fancy  should  have  led 
me,  unawares,  into  an  apish  imitation  of  them ;  which 
doubtless  would  have  looked  very  oddly  and  ill  in  me, 
how  admirable  soever  in  him. 

'  His  aim  and  mine  differ  widely  :  The  method  of  each 
no  less.  He  wrote  for  the  learned;  and  those  of  the 
Upper  Form  :  and  his  flights  are  answerable.  I  write  for 
Common  Readers,  in  a  style  familiar,  and  easy  to  be 
understood  by  such.  His  would  have  needed  (if  he  had 
not  added  it)  a  large  Paraphrase  upon  it;  to  explain  the 
many  diflficult  passages  in  it.  Mine,  as  it  has  none,  will 
not,  I  hope,  need  any.'  And  then,  in  a  tone  of  self-depre- 
ciation, he  adds  what  might  be  construed  into  a  humor- 
ous criticism  of  Cowley  and  his  school :  '  I  am  not  so 
wholly  a  stranger  to  the  writings  of  the  most  celebrated 
poets,  as  well  ancient  as  modern,  as  not  to  know,  that 
their  great  embellishments  of  their  poems  consist  mostly 
in  their  extravagant  and  almost  boundless  fancies;  amaz- 
ing and  even  dazzling  flights ;  luxurious  inventions;  wild 
hyperboles ;  lofty  language ;  with  an  introduction  of 
angels,  spirits,  demons,  and  their  respective  deities,  etc., 
which,  as  not  suitable  to  my  purpose,  I  industriously 
abstain  from.' 

Nevertheless  the  first  book  begins  in  proper  classic 
style,  with  the  proposition  and  invocation : 

I  sing  the  Life  of  David,  Israel's  King, 

Assist,  thou  Sacred  Power,  who  didst  him  bring 

From  the  sheepfold  and  set  him  on  the  throne. 


—-19— 

It  contains  five  books,  and  is  written  in  heroic  couplets. 
More  than  twenty  years  the  author  had  the  work  on 
hand,  having  been  interrupted  by  various  disturbances  in 
the  kingdom  ;  but  so  attractive  did  he  find  his  subject, 
that  he  was  led  on  to  finish  it,  and  weave  into  his  poem 
the  complete  history  of  David.  In  spite,  however,  of 
this  long  process  of  incubation,  the  poem  possesses  very 
little  merit. 

Although  I  have  made  no  effort  to  trace  David  poems  in 
the  literature  of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries, 
it  may  be  of  interest  to  call  attention  to  a  David  epic  pub- 
lished in  London  in  1817.  It  is  entitled  :  TJie  Royal  Min- 
strel, or  The  Witcheries  of  Endor,  an  Epic  Poem  in  eleven  books, 
by  J.  F.  Pennie,  Dorchester,  Printed  and  sold  by  G.  Clark,  iSiy. 
One  of  the  author's  mottoes  on  the  title  page  is  a  quotation 
from  Cowley's  Preface :  '  All  the  books  of  the  Bible  are 
either  most  admirable  and  exalted  pieces  of  Poetry,  or 
are  the  best  materials  in  the  world  for  it.'  The  opening 
scene  in  the  first  book  seems  clearly  modelled  upon 
Cowley.  The  Witch  of  Endor  in  a  general  assembly  of 
Demons  and  Weird  Sisters  holds  a  consultation  on  the 
best  means  of  overthrowing  Saul.  Satan  rehearses  what 
he  has  done  against  the  seed  of  Israel  since  he  heard  in 
heaven  that  Christ  was  to  spring  from  the  seed  of 
Abraham.  Adramelec  informs  the  infernal  assembly  that 
Saul  is  for  his  obstinacy  rejected  by  his  God,  and  that 
another  is  already  chosen  to  succeed  him  on  his  throne; 
that  this  new  favorite  is  David,  from  whom  the  Messiah 
is  to  spring.  They  with  united  power,  therefore,  resolve 
to  destroy  David.  Adramelec  enters  into  Saul  and  in- 
cites his  rage  against  David,  but  David  is  protected  by 
his  guardian  angel,  Abdiel.  The  poem  ends  with  the 
death  of  Saul  and  coronation  of  David.  The  poem  is 
written  in  blank  verse,  and  extends  through  eleven  books. 
It  is  far  superior  to  Ellwood's  labored  effort,  and  contains 
many  fine  passages. 

In  other  countries,  too,  the  interest  in  religious  poems 
continued.     At  Paris  in  1660  was  published  David,  poeme 


heroique,  in  eight  books  by  le  Sieur  Lesfargues.     It  begins 
in  proper  classic  style  : 

Je  chante  dans  I'ardeur  du  beau  feu  qui  m'anime 
Le  Berger  Couronne,  le  vainqueur  magnanime 
Du  Geant  Philistin  avec  honte  abatu  : 
Je  chante  ce  David  qui  seul  a  combattu. 

Five  years  later,  1665,  there  appeared  at  Paris  another 
similar  poem  ;  David  on  la  Vertu  Couronnee,  par  Jacques 
de  Coras,  in  seven  books.     It  opens  similarly  : 

Je  chante  le  Berger,  le  Prince,  et  le  Prophdte 
Dont  la  voix,  dont  le  zele,  et  le  forte  houlete 
Des  climats  Palestins,  par  cents  climats  divers, 
Porterent  la  louange  au  bout  de  I'Univers. 

In  the  third  book  there  is  a  picture  of  the  Almighty 
seated  in  the  Heavens.  The  Devil  appears  before  him, 
and  begs  for  permission  to  enter  into  Saul's  mind.  The 
figures  of  God  and  of  His  Son  are  extremely  puerile. 

Finally,  in  1691,  at  Brescia  in  Italy  was  published  a 
poem  entitled  Davide  Re,  poeina  eroico,  etc.,  by  Count 
Giovanni  Albano. 


the  davideis  in  its  relation  to  crashaw  s  sospetto 

d'herode. 

Although  critics,'  in  discussing  possible  sources  for  the 
Paradise  Lost,  have  brought  in  many  parallels  from  other 
poems, — among  them  from  Cowley  s  Davideis,  and  from 
Crashaw's  Sospetto  U Herode, — no  one  seems  to  have  noted 
that  Cowley  and  Crashaw,  in  their  descriptions  of  hell, 
have  both  treated  the  same  episode  from  Virgil,  and  that 
their  manner  of  treatment  is  wonderfully  similar.  The 
episode  in  question  is  Virgil's  account,  in  the  seventh 
book  of  the  Aeiieid,  of  Juno's  descent  into  hell,  and  of 
how  Alecto,  at  the  command  of  the  goddess,  taking  her 

>  Voltaire,  Lauder,  Dunster,  Hayley,  and  Masson  ;  George  Edmondson, 
Milton  and  Vondel' ;  a  Curiosity  of  Literature,  London,  1885;  August  Miiller, 
Uber Milt07is  Abhiingigkeit  vottVondel,  dissertation,  Berlin,  1891. 


— 5^— 

snakes  incites  to  rage  and  madness  first  Queen  Amata 
and  then  Turnus. 

I  purpose,  then,  in  the  following  pages,  to  make  a 
detailed  comparison  of  Cowley  and  Crashaw. 

Cowley  begins  his  long  epic  with  the  proposition  of  the 
whole  and  the  invocation,  in  proper  classic  style.  The 
poet  then  tells  of  the  new  agreement  that  had  been 
entered  into  between  David  and  Saul.  Here,  beginning 
with  the  seventieth  line  of  the  Davideis  and  extending  to 
the  three  hundred  and  forty-second,  is  the  passage  to  be 
compared  with  the  Sospetto  UHerode. 

First  is  shown  a  picture  of  hell,  which  the  poet  de- 
scribes at  some  length.  Satan  himself  is  then  represented, 
furious  over  the  friendship  which  has  just  been  declared 
between  Saul  and  David.  He  sees  the  beauties  of  young 
David,  and  knowing  that  from  him  is  to  spring  the  Eter- 
nal Shiloh,  his  rage  is  increased  ten-fold.  He  knocks  his 
iron  teeth,  he  howls,  he  lashes  his  breast  with  his  long 
tail,  and  he  makes  hell  too  hot  even  for  the  fiends  them- 
selves. He  calls  upon  his  hosts  for  aid  to  bring  to  utter 
ruin  '  this  bold  young  shepherd  boy.'  All  the  powers  of 
hell  at  first  stand  amazed  and  terrified  ;  the  snakes  cease 
to  hiss  and  the  tortured  souls  fear  to  groan.  At  last  Envy 
crawls  forth  from  the  dire  throng,  her  locks  attired  with 
curling  serpents,  vipers  preying  upon  her  breasts,  her 
garments  stained  with  gore,  and  lashing  herself  with  her 
knotted  whip.  Addressing  the  Arch-fiend  at  some  length, 
she  urges  him  not  to  despair,  and  offers  him  her  aid. 
Beelzebub,  descending  from  his  burning  throne,  embraces 
her.  She,  bowing  thrice,  sets  out  at  dead  of  night,  and 
comes  to  the  palace  where  Saul  lies  sleeping.  All  nature 
shudders  at  sight  of  her.  Taking  upon  her  the  shape  of 
Father  Benjamin,  she  enters  the  chamber  of  Saul,  and 
standing  by  his  bedside,  urges  him  to  bestir  himself  and 
take  vengeance  upon  'this  upstart  youth,  this  beardless 
shepherd  boy.'  Then  drawing  forth  one  of  her  worst,  her 
best  beloved  snakes,  she  thrusts  it  into  Saul's  bosom,  and 
unseen  takes  her  fliorht  into  the  darkness.     Saul  awakes  in 


—52— 

terror,  the  sweat  bedewing  his  bed.  His  anger  against 
David  is  increased  ten-fold,  and  he  swears  eternal  ven- 
geance against  him. 

Now  in  Crashaw's  Sospetto  UHerode,  we  have  exactly 
the  same  situation.  After  invoking  the  Muse,  the  poet 
gives  a  short  description  of  hell.  Next  Satan  is  described. 
He  has  heard  of  God's  plan  to  redeem  mankind  by  send- 
ing His  Blessed  Son  to  earth.  His  rage  exceeds  even 
that  of  Cowley's  devil.  He  gnashes  his  teeth,  and  lashes 
his  sides  with  his  tail  ;  he  claws  his  furrowed  brow,  and 
finally  chews  his  twisted  tail  for  spite.  He  summons  his 
hosts  to  help  him.  Cruelty  appears  and  offers  her  ser- 
vices. Her  fearful  palace  is  described.  Hardly  could  the 
Arch-fiend  tell  her  all  his  intentions,  so  eager  is  she  for 
wicked  deeds.  Rising  through  the  air,  she  sets  out  for 
Bethlehem.  Laying  aside  her  own  shape,  she  personates 
a  mortal  part,  and  assumes  the  shape  of  Joseph,  King 
Herod's  dead  brother.  Entering  the  palace,  where  Herod 
lies  sleeping,  she  approaches  his  bed-side.  Addressing 
him  in  a  feigned  voice,  she  urges  him  to  be  a  man,  and  to 
guard  himself  against  the  dangers  that  threaten  his  king- 
dom. This  said,  she  takes  her  richest  snake,  and,  apply- 
ing it  to  the  king's  breast,  hastens  away.  Herod  awakes 
in  terror.  His  bed  is  bedewed  with  sweat.  In  rage  he 
calls  for  arms  and  defies  his  own  fancy -framed  foes. 

Since  both  accounts  are  based  upon  Virgil,  the  general 
outline  is,  of  course,  the  same  in  each.  When,  however, 
we  come  to  compare  the  details  of  treatment,  we  find  a 
striking  similarity. 

In  his  description  of  hell,  Crashaw  has  : 

Below  the  bottom  of  the  great  abyss, 

There  where  one  center  reconciles  all  things, 

The  world's  profound  heart  pants;  there  placed  is 

Mischief's  old  master;  close  about  him  clings 

A  curl'd  knot  of  embracing  snakes  that  kiss 

His  correspondent  cheekes  ;  these  loathsome  strings 

Hold  the  perverse  prince  in  eternal  ties 

Fast  bound  since  first  he  forfeited  the  skies. 


—53— 
Cowley  has  similarly  : 

Beneath  the  silent  chambers  of  the  earth, 
Where  the  sun's  fruitful  beams  give  metals  birth, 
There  is  a  place,  deep,  wondrous  deep  below. 
Which  genuine  night  and  horror  does  o'erflow. 

Here  Lucifer  the  mighty  captive  reigns, 
Proud  midst  his  woes,  and  tyrant  in  his  chains. 

Continuing,  Crashaw  describes  the  Devil's  rage: 

his  teeth  for  torment  gnash. 
While  his  steel  sides  sound  with  his  tail's  strong  lash. 

Cowley  has  : 

Thrice  did  he  knock  his  iron  teeth,  thrice  howl, 
And  into  frowns  his  wrathful  forehead  roll  : 

With  that,  with  his  long  tail  he  lashed  his  breast. 

In  each  poem  the  Devil  has  a  vision  of  fate  hostile  to 
him.  He  sees  the  promised  Shiloh  that  is  to  save  man- 
kind. 

In  Crashaw  it  is  expressed  thus  : 

He  calls  to  mind  the  old  quarrel  .  .  . 

Heaven's  golden  winged  herald  late  ke  saw 
To  a  poor  Galilean  virgin  sent. 

,  He  saw  the  old  Hebrew's  womb  neglect  the  law 

Of  age  and  barrenness. 

He  saw  rich  nectar-thaws  release  the  rigour 
Of  th'  icy  North  .     .  . 

He  sa7u  a  vernal  smile  sweetly  disfigure 
Winter's  sad  face. 

He  saw  how  in  that  blest  day-bearing  night 
The  Heaven-rebuked  shades  made  haste  away. 

He  marked  how  the  poor  shepherds  ran  to  pa}' 
Their  simple  tribute  to  the  babe. 


—54— 

He  sa-w  a  three-fold  sun,  with  rich  increase, 

Make  proud  the  ruby  portals  of  the  East  ; 

He  satv  the  temple  sacred  to  sweet  peace 

Adore  her  Prince's  birth  .  .  . 

He  saw  the  falling  idols  all  confess 

A  coming  deity  ;  he  saw  the  nest 

Of  pois'nous  and  unnatural  loves,  earth-nurst, 

Touch'd  with  the  world's  true  antidote,  to  burst. 

He  saw  heaven  blossom  with  a  new-born  light,  etc.,  etc. 

Struck  with  these  great  concurrences  of  things, 

Symptoms  so  deadly  unto  death  and  him, 

Fain  would  he  have  forgot  what  fatal  strings 

Eternally  bind  each  rebellious  limb. 

He  shook  himself  and  spread  his  spacious  wings, 

Which,  like  two  bosomed  sails,  embrace  the  dim 

Air  with  a  dismal  shade  ;  but  all  in  vain, 

Of  sturdy  adamant  is  his  chain. 

Now  in  Cowley,  the  Devil  sees  in  the  same  way  young 
David  and  the  promised  Messiah  to  spring  from  his  stock. 
The  form  of  the  description  and  the  repetition  of  the 
phrase  he  sazv,  II.  109  ff.  are  noteworthy: 

He  sazv  the  beauties  of  his  shape  and  face. 

He  saw  the  nobler  wonders  of  his  mind. 

He  saw  .  .  . 

How  by  his  young  hand  their  Gathite  champion  fell. 

He  saw  the  reverend  prophet  boldly  shed 

The  royal  drops  round  his  enlarged  head. 

And  well  he  knew  what  legacy  did  place 

The  sacred  sceptre  in  bless'd  Judah's  race, 

From  which  th'  Eternal  Shiloh  was  to  spring, 

A  knowledge  which  new  hells  to  Hell  did  bring ; 

And  though  no  less  he  knew  himself  too  weak 

The  smallest  link  of  strong  wrought  fate  to  break, 

Yet  would  he  rage  and  struggle  with  the  chain. 

In  the  Sospetto,  Satan  addresses  his  hosts  in  these  words  : 

And  yet,  whose  force  fear  I  ?     Have  I  so  lost 

Myself?  my  strength  too,  with  my  innocence  ? 

Come,  try  who  dares,  Heav'n,  earth,  vvhat'er  dost  boast 

A  borrowed  being,  make  thy  bold  defence. 

Come,  thy  Creator,  too  ;  what  though  it  cost 

Me  yet  a  second  fall,  we'd  try  our  strengths. 
Heaven  saw  us  struggle  once,  as  brave  a  fight 
Earth  now  shall  see  and  tremble  at  the  sight. 


—55— 
Cowley's  Satan  exclaims : 

Are  we  such  nothings  then,  said  he,  our  will 
Cross'd  by  a  shepherd's  boy?     And  you  yet  still 
Play  with  your  idle  serpents  here  ?     Dares  none 
Attempt  what  becomes  furies?     Are  ye  grown 
Benum'd  with  fear  or  virtue's  sprightless  cold, 
Ye  who  were  once  (I'm  sure)  so  brave  and  bold? 

At  the  sight  of  the  fury  passing  through  the  air,  Nature 
herseH  is  terrified,  and  Crashaw  thus  describes  it: 

Heaven  saw  her  rise  and  saw  hell  in  the  sight, 

The  fields'  fair  eyes  saw  her  and  saw  no  more, 

But  shut  their  flow'rj'  lids  ;  forever  night 

And  winter  strow  her  way  :  yea  such  a  sore 

Is  she  to  Nature,  that  a  general  fright. 

An  universal  palsy  spreading  o'er 

The  face  of  things,  from  her  dire  eyes  had  run 
Had  not  her  thick  snnkes  hid  them  from  the  sun. 

Cowley's  description  is  close  to  this : 

The  silver  moon  with  terror  paler  grew 
And  neighb'ring  Hermon  sweated  fiowr'y  dew. 
Swift  Jordan  started  and  straight  backward  fled. 
Hiding  among  thick  reeds  his  aged  head. 

Also  see  above  under  Du  Bartas.  Compare  Aeneid,  VII, 
514  ff.,  referred  to  by  Cowley  in  note;  Thebaid,  I,  197  ff. 
(see  below). 

In  theSospetto,  Cruelty,  personating  Joseph,  urges  Herod 
to  action  and  exclaims  : 

Why  did  I  spend  my  life  and  spill  my  blood. 
That  thy  firm  hand  forever  might  sustain 
A  well-pois'd  sceptre?     Does  it  now  seem  good 
Thy  brother's  blood  be  spilt,  life  spent  in  vain  ? 

In  the  Davideis,  Envy,  personating  Benjamin,  thus  incites 

Saul : 

Why  was  I  else  from  Canaan's  famine  led? 
Happy,  thrice  happy,  had  I  there  been  dead, 
Ere  my  full  loins  discharged  this  numerous  race. 


;6— 


Crashaw  continues  : 


So  said,  her  richest  snake,  which  to  her  wrist 

For  a  beseeming  bracelet  she  had  tied, 

A  special  worm  it  was,  as  ever  kiss'd 

The  foamy  lips  of  Cerberus,  she  applied 

To  the  King's  breast — 

This  done,  home  to  her  hell  she  hied  amain. 

Compare   Ovid,  Meta,   VII,  402   ff.  ;    Cowley,    Book   of 
Plants,  III,  195-196. 
While  Cowley  has : 

with  that  she  takes 
One  of  her  worst,  her  best  beloved  snakes: 
'Softly,  dear  worm,  soft  and  unseen,'  said  she, 
'  Into  his  bosom  steal  and  in  it  be 
'My  vicero)^'     At  that  word  she  took  her  flight, 
And  her  loose  shape  dissolved  into  the  night. 

The  effect  of  this  fearful  apparition  is  in  each  case  the 
same. 

In  Crashaw : 

He  wakes,  and  with  him  ne'er  to  sleep,  new  fears  ; 

His  sweat-bedewed  bed  had  now  betray'd  him 

To  a  vast  field  of  thorns  ;  ten  thousand  spears 

All  pointed  at  his  heart  seem'd  to  invade  him  ; 

So  mighty  were  th'  amazing  characters 

With  which  his  feeling  dream  had  thus  dismay'd  him. 

He  his  own  fancy-framed  foes  defies  ; 

In  rage,  Mj'  arms  !     Give  me  my  arms  !  he  cries. 

In  Cowley : 

Th'  infested  King  leaped  from  his  bed  amaz'd, 
Scarce  knew  himself  at  first,  but  round  him  gaz'd. 
And  started  back  at  pieced-up  shapes  which  fear 
And  his  distorted  fancy  painted  there. 
Terror  froze  up  his  hair  and  on  his  face 
Showers  of  cold  sweat  roll'd  trembling  down  apace  ; 
Then  knocking  with  his  angry  hands  his  breast, 
Earth  with  his  feet,  he  cries:  '  Oh  !  'tis  confess'd, 
'  I've  been  a  pious  fool,  a  woman-King  ! ' 

As  Crashaw's  Sospetto  is  a  translation  of  the  first  book 
of   Marini's  Strage  degli  Innocenti,  the   first  question  that 


—57— 

arises   is,  did  Cowley   borrow   from    Marini?      This  can 
easily  be  settled  by  comparing  a  few  passages. 
Crashaw  describes  Satan  thus  : 

His  eyes,  the  sullen  dens  of  death  and  night 
Startle  the  dull  air  with  a  dismal  red. 

Cowley's  description  is  : 

His  eyes  dart  forth  red  flames  which  scare  the  night. 

In  both  poets,  we  see  the  idea  of  terror  inspired  by 
Satan's  eyes.     But  Marini  has: 

Negli  occhi,  ove  mestizia  alberga  e  morte 
Luce  fiammeggia  torbida  e  vermiglia.     St.  7. 

Again,  in  describing  the  effect  of  the  Fury's  appear- 
ance, Crashaw  has  : 

Such  to  the  frighted  palace  now  she  comes. 

In  Cowley  we  read  : 

Lo  !  at  her  entrance  Saul's  strong  palace  shook. 
Marini,  on  the  other  hand,  says  nierely  : 

Ricerca  e  spia  della  magion  reale. 

Nothing  whatever  is  said  of  the  effect  of  her  appearance 
upon  the  palace. 

To  take  another  example,  Cruelty,  in  Crashaw,  addresses 
Herod  : 

Why  dost  thou  let  thy  brave  soul  lie  suppressed 
In  death-like  slumbers,  while  thy  dangers  crave 
A  waking  eye  and  hand  ? 

Cowley  similarly  : 

Arise,  lost  King  of  Israel  ;  canst  thou  lie 
Dead  in  this  sleep,  and  yet  thy  last  so  nigh  ? 

Marini,  however,  dilTers  from  both  : 

Te  ne  stai  neghittoso,  e'l  cor  guerriero 
Neir  ozio  immergi  e  nel  riposo  i  sensi. 


-58- 

The  expression  'death-like'  belongs  only  to  the  English 
translation. 

Finally,  in  Crashaw,  Cruelty  says  to  Herod : 

O,  call  thj'self  home  to  thyself  .  .  . 

rouse  thee  and  shake  * 

Th3'self  into  a  shape  that  may  become  thee  : 
Be  He7'od. 


In  Cowley,  Envy  exclaims  to  Saul : 

Betray  not,  too,  thyself;  take  courage,  call 
Thy  enchanted  virtues  forth  and  be  whole  Saul. 

In  Marini  simply  : 

Sveglia  il  tuo  spirto  addormentato,  ond'arda 
Di  regio  sdegno  e  I'ire  e  I'armi  appresta. 

Clearly,  then,  Cowley  did  not  refer  to  Marini.  That 
both  Marini  and  Cowley  drew  from  Virgil  in  the  first 
instance  there  is  not  the  least  doubt,  but  a  common  origin 
does  not  account  for  such  verbal  correspondences  as  have 
been  shown  between  Cowley  and  Crashaw.  The  question 
now  remains,  did  Cowley  imitate  Crashaw?  or  was  Cra- 
shaw indebted  to  Cowley  ?  The  difficulty  in  deciding  this 
question  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  impossible  to  fix  an  exact 
date  for  Crashaw's  translation.  The  first  book,  at  least, 
of  the  Davidcis  was  written  while  Cowley  was  at  Cam- 
bridge, 1637-1643.  Now  Crashaw's  Steps  to  the  Temple,  in 
which  the  Sospetto  appeared,  was  not  published  till  1646, 
just  before  he  left  England  ;  yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  he 
wrote  the  great  body  of  his  poems  while  he  was  still  at 
Cambridge.  His  first  publication  consisted  of  some  Latin 
verses  on  the  King's  recovery  from  small-pox  (1632),  on 
the  King's  return  from  Scotland  (1633),  and  on  the  birth 
of  James,  Duke  of  York  (1633).  In  1634  appeared  anony- 
mously EpigranivtatJim  SacroriLm  Liber. 

In  1636  Crashaw  removed  from  Pembroke  Hall  to  Peter- 
house  and  was  elected  a  fellow  there  in  1637,  the  very  year 
that  Cowley  entered  the  University  (see  above,  p.  2). 


—59— 

The  first  dated  editions  of  Marini's  work,  Strage  degli 
Innocenti,  appeared  at  Rome  and  at  Venice  in  1633, 
although  other  undated  editions  had  been  published  be- 
fore. There  was  thus  ample  time  for  Marini  to  become 
known  in  England,  and  for  Crashaw  to  make  his  transla- 
tion before  leaving  Cambridge. 

As  Cowley  wrote  most  of  the  Davideis  at  Cambridge 
between  1637- 1643  and  did  not  publish  it  till  1656,  so  I 
would  assume  that  Crashaw  made  his  translation  at  Cam- 
bridge just  before  Cowley's  admission  to  the  University, 
or  even  while  Cowley  was  a  student  there,  and  that  it 
remained  in  manuscript  till  1646,  when  it  was  published 
in  the  Steps  to  the  Temple. 

The  proofs  are  not  conclusive,  it  must  be  confessed,  but 
it  seems  more  probable  that  Cowley,  the  younger  poet 
just  entering  the  University,  should  have  borrowed  from 
a  translation  of  the  popular  Marini  (provided  it  was  then 
in  MS.)  rather  than  that  Crashaw  with  his  original  before 
him  should  have  borrowed  from  Cowley's  poem. 

This  episode  in  the  seventh  book  of  the  Aeneid,  in 
which  Alecto,  sent  by  Juno,  goes  in  disguise  and  arouses 
the  fury  of  Queen  Amata  and  of  Turnus  against  Aeneas 
and  the  Trojans,  and  upon  which  Cowley  and  Marini 
based  their  accounts,  has  been  exceedingly  popular,  and 
has  been  imitated  again  and  again  both  by  the  Latin  and 
English  poets. 

COWLEY   AND   VIRGIL. 

Virgil's  account,  upon  which  all  the  episodes  to  be 
considered  are  based,  must  first  be  examined  in  detail. 
It  appears  in  the  Aeneid,  Book  VII,  11.  286  flf.  Compared 
with  Crashaw  and  Cowley,  Virgil's  description  offers  a 
parallel  complete  in  every  detail.' 

Juno  sees  the  success  of  Aeneas  and  the  Trojans  settled 
in  the  country  of  Latium,  and  knows  that  the  descendants 
of   Aeneas  are  to  possess  the  land,  just  as  the  Devil,  in 

1  The  following  paraphrase  is  based  upon  Works  of  Virgil  in  Prose  trans- 
lated by  James  Davidson.     Third  American  edition,  New  York,  1823. 


— 6o — 

Cowley  has  a  vision  of  a  descendant  of  David  who  shall 
rule  over  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  Juno  then,  plunging  to 
earth,  calls  up  baleful  Alecto  from  the  mansions  of  the 
dire  sisters,  and  begs  her  aid.  Alecto,  infected  with  Gor- 
gonian  poisons,  repairs  to  Latium  and,  entering  the  palace, 
takes  possession  of  Queen  Amata's  gate.  At  her  the 
Fury  flings  from  her  serpentine  locks  one  of  her  snakes, 
and  plunges  it  deep  into  the  bosom  of  the  Queen,  so  that 
it  may  incite  her  anger  against  the  whole  household. 
The  poison  of  the  serpent  drives  the  Queen  to  rage  and 
madness.  After  having  endeavored  in  vain  to  persuade 
King  Latinus  to  break  off  the  match  between  Lavinia  and 
Aeneas,  the  Queen,  driven  by  the  poison  of  the  Furj^ 
wanders  madly  through  the  town. 

This  is  but  the  beginning  of  the  Fury's  work. 

Now  begins  the  episode  which  furnished  the  ultimate 
source  for  Marini  and  Cowley. 

The  baleful  goddess  is  borne  on  dusky  wings  to  the 
walls  of  the  bold  Rutulian,  and  at  the  dead  hour  of  mid- 
night enters  the  palace  where  Turnus  is  enjoying  repose. 
Here  Alecto,  laying  aside  her  hideous  aspect  and  Fury's 
limbs,  transforms  herself  into  a  hag,  plows  with  wrinkles 
her  obscene  loathed  front,  assumes  gray  hairs,  and  with  a 
fillet  binds  on  them  an  olive  branch.  She  becomes 
Calybe,  the  aged  priestess  of  Juno's  temple,  and  presents 
herself  to  the  youth.  She  addresses  Turnus  and  urges 
him  to  overthrow  the  Tuscan  armies  and  to  protect  the 
Latins.  But  he  refuses  to  believe  her,  and  derides  her  as 
'an  old  woman  oppressed  with  dotage  and  void  of  truth.' 
Alecto  kindles  with  rage,  and  as  for  the  youth,  while  yet 
the  words  were  in  his  mouth,  a  sudden  trembling  seized 
upon  his  limbs  ;  his  eyes  grew  fixed  at  sight  of  the  hissing 
snakes  and  the  horrid  shape  of  the  Fury  ;  as  he  hesitates 
and  purposes  more  to  say,  she,  rolling  her  fiery  eye-balls, 
repels  his  words,  rears  the  double  snakes  in  her  hair, 
clanks  her  whip  and  tells  him  who  she  is,  whence  she 
comes.  Then  she  fiings  a  fire-brand  at  the  youth,  and 
deep  in  his  breast  fixes  the  torch  smoking   with  horrid 


— 6i— 

light.  Excessive  terror  disturbs  his  rest,  and  sweat, 
bursting  from  every  pore,  completely  drenches  his  bones 
and  his  limbs.  He  raves,  and  frantic  calls  for  arms. 
Alecto  then  wings  her  flight  to  where  lulus  is  pursuing 
beasts  of  prey.  Mounted  upon  the  high  roof  of  the  stall, 
she  sounds  the  shepherd's  signal,  and  stirs  up  the  forces 
of  Tyrrhus  and  of  Ascanius  against  each  other,  so  that 
they  join  in  battle  and  the  earth  is  covered  with  the  blood 
of  the  slain.  This  done,  she  reports  to  Juno  the  success 
of  her  hellish  designs,  and  leaving  the  high  places  in  this 
upper  world,  hastens  to  the  mansions  below,  disburdening 
thus  both  heaven  and  earth. 

To  this  episode,  Cowley  refers  in  his  note,  and  criticises 
Virgil's  method:  'Neither  do  I  more  approve  in  this 
point  of  Virgil's  method,  who  in  the  seventh  Aeneid 
brings  Alecto  to  Turnus  at  first  in  the  shape  of  a  priestess, 
but  at  her  leaving  of  him,  makes  her  take  upon  her  the 
shape  of  her  own  figure  of  a  Fury  ;  and  so  speak  to  him, 
which  might  have  been  done,  methinks,  as  well  at  first,  or 
indeed  better  not  done  at  all ;  for  no  person  is  so  im- 
proper to  persuade  man  to  any  undertaking  as  the  Devil 
without  a  disguise  ;  which  is  why  I  make  him  here  both 
come  in  and  go  out  too  in  the  likeness  of  Benjamin,  who 
as  the  first  of  Saul's  progenitors  might  the  most  probably 
seem  concerned  for  his  welfare,  and  the  easiliest  be  bcliev'd 
and  obey'd.' 

It  is  noticeable  that,  in  the  case  of  Crashaw,  the  Devil 
assumes  the  shape  of  Joseph,  the  King's  dead  brother. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  though  Cowley  is  always 
ready  to  quote  from  the  classic  poets,  though  he  never 
hesitates  to  give  the  source  of  a  simile  or  of  a  metaphor, 
if  taken  from  Latin  or  Greek,  he  never  refers  to  contem- 
poraries or  to  preceding  English  poets.  In  the  first 
instance,  he  is  doubtless  led  by  a  scholarly  spirit  to  give 
his  classic  authorities  ;  in  the  other  case,  he  may  have 
thought  the  likeness  or  source  would  be  obvious. 

Among  all  the  ancient  poets  to  whom  Cowley  refers, 
Virgil    is   given    the   precedence.      Ever)- where    Cowley 

5 


—62— 

speaks  of  him  in  terms  of  the  highest  respect  and  admira- 
tion, as  '  My  Master,'  and  '  That  Prince  of  Poets.'  One 
needs  only  a  casual  glance  at  the  Davideis  to  see  how  much 
Cowley,  in  his  epic,  was  indebted  to  Virgil,  so  that  one 
critic'  says  :  '  It  is  crowded  with  unblushing  plagiarisms.' 
And  the  opening  line  of  the  Davideis,  '  I  sing  the  man  who 
Judah's  sceptre  bore,'  leads  another  critic  to  remark'*: 
'  Even  the  opening  of  Virgil's  Aeneid  has  proved  irresist- 
ible to  Cowley,  who  has  miserably  paraphrased  it  in  the 
first  line  of  the  Davideis.  Embarking  with  such  a  deter- 
mined lack  of  originality,  Cowley  was  still  the  school-boy 
copying  closely  from  his  models.' 

Cowley,  in  his  note,  thus  justifies  himself :  '  The  custom 
of  beginning  all  poems  with  a  proposition  of  the  whole 
work  and  an  invocation  of  some  God  for  his  assistance  to 
go  through  with  it,  is  so  solemnly  and  religiously  observed 
by  all  the  ancient  poets,  that  though  I  could  have  found 
out  a  better  way,  I  should  not  (I  think)  have  ventured 
upon  it.  But  there  can  be,  I  believe,  none  better ;  and 
that  part  of  the  Invocation,  if  it  became  a  Heathen,  is  no 
less  necessary  for  a  Christian  poet.  A  Jove  pi-incipiiun, 
Miisae ;  and  it  follows  then  very  naturally,  Jovis  omnia 
plena.  The  whole  work  may  reasonably  hope  to  be  filled 
with  a  Divine  Spirit,  when  it  begins  with  a  prayer  to  be 
so.'  Cowley  thus  felt  the  tradition  too  strong  to  break 
away  from,  as  did  also  Milton  later,  who  began  his  epic 
with  a  proposition  and  an  invocation  to  the  Hebrew 
Muse. 

On  the  whole,  however,  it  must  be  confessed  that  the 
critic  of  the  North  British  Review  is  right  when  he  says 
that  Cowley  is  '  still  the  school-boy  copying  closely  from 
his  models.'  This  may  be  seen  by  comparing  the  opening 
passage  of  the  Davideis  : 

I  sing  the  man  who  Judah's  sceptre  bore 

Much  danger  first,  much  toil  did  he  sustain, 
Whilst  Saul  and  Hell  cross'd  his  strong  fate  in  vain  ; 

'  Wm.  Stabbing.     Some  Vei-dicts  of  History  reviewed.     London,  1887. 
'^  North  Brit.  Review,  Vol.  6  (1846-1847),  p.  398. 


-63- 

So  long  her  conqu'ror  Fortune's  flight  pursued, 

Till  with  unwearied  virtue  he  subdu'd 

All  home-bred  malice  and  all  foreign  boasts. 

With  the  familiar : 

Arma  virumque  cano,  Trojae  qui  primus  ab  oris 
Italiam,  fato  profugus,  Laviniaque  venit 
Litora:  multum  ille  et  terris  jactatus  et  alto 
Vi  superum,  saevae  memorem  Junonis  ob  iram, 
Multa  quoque  et  bello  passus,  dum  conderet  urbem. 

Compare  also  the  opening  lines  of  Tasso's  Jeriisalem  and 
of  Voltaire's  Hcnriadc. 

And  so,  all  through  the  poem,  passage  after  passage 
might  be  cited  showing  the  closest  following  of  Virgil. 
Wherever  there  is  the  least  exaggeration  or  a  seeming 
departure  from  truth,  Cowley  hastens  to  strengthen  his 
statement  b}^  reference  to  Virgil.  Even  in  the  matter  of 
verse  as  seen  below,  Virgil  is  his  authority.  On  a  ques- 
tion of  style,  too,  Cowley  has  recourse  to  the  Latin  poet. 
At  the  introduction  of  the  ode,  Davideis,  I,  482,  the  note 
in  the  line  explains  that  there  is  a  seeming  want  of  con- 
nection between  the  ode  and  the  preceding  line.  For  this, 
reference  is  had  to  Aeneid,  III,  84  fF.;  IV,  869  ff.,  in  which 
appears  the  common  construction  of  the  omission  of 
iiiquit  before  direct  discourse.  In  the  description  of  the 
Prophet's  College,  based  on  English  colleges  of  his  own 
day,*  Cowley  tells  of  early  books,  'Some  drawn  on  fair 

^  Compare  the  academj'  in  the  first  scene  of  Love's  Labor's  Lost,  and  see 
Gregor  Sarrazin,  William  Shakespeare's  Lehrjahre,  Litterarhistorische  For- 
schungen,  Heft  V,  1897,  p.  205.  Sarrazin  cites  as  a  parallel  and  possible 
hint  for  Shakespeare,  the  academy  founded  in  1592  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh. 
It  included  in  its  membership  Marlowe,  Thomas  Kyd,  Thomas  Harriott, 
Royden,  and  Warner.  The  club,  however,  developed  atheistic  tendencies, 
and  the  assassination  of  Marlowe  was  considered  the  just  judgment  of 
God  upon  him  for  his  impiety. 

Compare  also  the  academy  of  Charlemagne,  in  which  the  Emperor  and 
Court  assumed  names  taken  partly  from  the  Bible  and  partly  from  the 
Greek  and  Roman  classics.  Alcuin  was  known  as  Horace,  Eginbart  as 
Calliopus,  and  the  Emperor  himself  as  King  David. 

From  such  well-known  societies  and  academies  as  these,  Cowley  may 
have  derived  some  hints  for  his  Prophet's  College  at  Rama. 


-64- 

palm-leaves,  with  short-liv'd  toil'  and  here  the  note  refers 
to  the  Sibyl,  Acneid,  VI,  74,  '  Foliis  tantum  ne  carmina 
manda.' 

The  feast  of  Saul,  Davideis,  II,  358  ff.,  is  celebrated  in 
true  Roman  style,  as  also  the  feast  of  Moab,  Davideis,  III, 
271  ff.  *  An  hereditary  bowl  with  which  they  made  their 
libations  to  their  gods  and  entertained  strangers  '  (III,  note 
33)  was  crowned  with  flowers  and  passed  from  hand  to 
hand.  The  room  was  hung  with  tapestry,  and  the  guests 
at  the  feast  reclined  upon  beds  in  Roman  fashion  (II, 
note  33).  In  his  note  to  the  second  passage,  Cowley 
refers  to  Virgil's  description  of  the  feast  with  which 
Queen  Dido  welcomes  Aeneas,  Aeneid,  I,  728.  Thus, 
feasts,  battles,  and  even  religious  ceremonies  are  dis- 
tinctly Roman,  Virgilian.  In  nearly  every  case,  Cowley 
has  frankly  pointed  out  his  sources. 

When,  however,  we  come  to  compare  Cowley  with 
Virgil  in  the  treatment  of  the  episode  discussed  above, 
we  find  that  Cowley  does  not,  after  all,  take  many  details 
from  Virgil's  account.  He  owes  more  to  Ovid,  Statins, 
and  Claudian,  as  will  be  shown  below. 

In  his  description  of  hell,  one  borrowing  from  Virgil  is 
of  interest,  for  it  was  later  imitated  by  Dryden.  To  jus- 
tify his  epithet,  '  unfletcht  tempests,'  I,  75,  Cowley  either 
quotes  or  refers  to  Aristotle,  Hippocrates,  Virgil,  Juvenal, 
and  the  Bible.  He  quotes  from  Virgil  the  well-known 
passage  concerning  the  cave  of  Aeolus,  Aeneid,  I,  52. 
Cowle3''s  lines  are  : 

'Beneath  the  dens  where  unfletcht  tempests  lie, 
And  infant  winds  their  tender  voices  tr}'.' 

This  is  not  based  upon  Aeneid,  I,  52,  but  rather  upon 
Aeneid,  X,  97: 

ceu  flamina  prima 
Cum  deprensa  fremunt  sylvis,  et  caeca  volutant 
Murmura,  ventures  nautis  prodentia  ventos. 

Which    Dryden    translates   in  almost  the  exact  words  of 
Cowley : 


-65- 

So  winds,  when  yet  unfledg'd  in  woods  they  lie, 
In  whispers  first  their  tender  voices  try.' 

Cowley,  however,  is  still  closer  to  Statius  : 

lUic  exhausti  posuere  cubilia  venti.      Thebaid,  I,  37. 
Ventus  uti  primas  struit  inter  nubila  vires.      Theb.,  VII,  625. 

Marini  in  his  treatment  of  this  episode,  Stj-age degli  Inno- 
centi,  stanza  61,  has  taken  bodily  the  figure  used  to  de- 
scribe Herod's  rage,  from  Virgil's  Aeneid,  VII,  462-466. 

'  Dryden  afterwards  parodied  this  couplet  in  Mac  Flecknoe,  11.  76,  ff. 

Where  unfledg'd  actors  learn  to  laugh  and  cry,  I 

Where  infant  punks  their  tender  voices  try.  ' 

A  writer  in  LittelFs  Living  Age,  5th  series,  vol.  40  (Oct.-Dec.  18S2),  p.  753, 
has  pointed  out  later  imitations  of  these  lines  of  Cowie}' : 

Compare  Young's  Night  Thoughts,  Night  IX  (Anderson's  British  Poets, 
p.  125,  col.  b)  : 

above  the  caves 
Where  infant  tempests  wait  their  growing  wings, 
And  tune  their  tender  voices  to  that  roar. 

Mrs.  Barbauld,  The  Invitation,  11.  S3-84  : 

Here  callow  chiefs  and  embryo  statesmen  lie, 
And  unfledg'd  poets  short  excursions  tr)'. 

In  still  another  passage  of  his  translation  Dryden  has  imitated  Cowley. 
Compare  the  death  of  Goliath,  Davideis,  III,  589  : 

Down,  down,  he  falls  !  and  bites  in  vain  the  ground. 
Blood,  brain,  and  soul  crowd  mingled  through  the  wound. 

A  passage  based  upon  Aeneid,  X,  349  : 

Fronte  ferit  terrum,  et  crassum  vomit  ore  cruorem. 
which  is  translated  by  Dryden  : 

His  forehead  was  the  first  that  struck  the  ground, 
Life-blood  and  life  rush'd  mingled  through  the  wound. 

Compare  also  Aeneid,  IX,  752  : 

ingenti  concussa  est  pondere  tellus  : 
Collapses  artus  et  arma  cruenta  cerebro. 

which  Dryden  translates  : 

Down  sinks  the  giant  with  a  thund'ring  sound,     * 
His  pond'rous  limbs  oppress  the  trembling  ground. 
Blood,  brains,  and  foam,  gush  from  the  gaping  wound. 


—66— 

IMITATIONS   OF   THE   AENEID,   VII,    286    FF.    PRECEDING 

COWLEY. 

In  many  of  the  Joseph  dramas  described  by  Von  Wei- 
len,  Der  Agyptische  Joseph,  etc.,  this  same  episode  has  been 
imitated. 

In  the  Spanish  Tragedia,  llamada  Josefina,  by  Mical  de 
Cravajal,  Placencia,  1546  (von  Weilen,  p.  13),  the  poet 
introduces  in  the  fourth  act,  Invidia,  fiiria  infernal,  who 
complains  that,  though  everything  else  lies  at  her  feet, 
Jacob  and  his  race  resist  her.  She  calls  to  her  assistance 
the  demons  of  hell  and  sends  her  four  daughters,  the 
Furies,  to  incite  the  brothers  against  Joseph.  They  suc- 
cessfully accomplish  their  mission,  and  Joseph  is  sold  into 
captivity. 

In  Brunner's  German  drama,  or  Biblisclie  Historia,  pub- 
lished at  Wittenberg,  1566  (von  Weilen,  p.  92),  appear  in 
the  first  scene  two  devils,  Belial  and  Moloch,  who  incite 
the  brothers  against  Joseph,  and  later  instigate  Potiphar's 
wife  to  tempt  him  (compare  Fracastor's/^f^^^///  below). 

Upon  the  subject  of  Herod  and  Mariamne  appeared  not 
long  after  1544  a  drama  entitled  Maj'iainne  by  Lodovico 
Dolce.'  In  the  second  prologue,  Pluto,  the  Prince  of 
Hell,  who  has  heard  of  God's  plan  of  salvation  for  man- 
kind, resolves  to  get  possession  of  Herod's  soul.  Envy 
(Gelosia)  appears  before  Pluto  and  offers  her  services. 
Pluto  praises  her  faithfulness,  but  resolves  to  undertake 
the  mission  himself.     The  devils  do  not  appear  again. 

A  far  more  complete  and  careful  treatment  of  this  epi- 
sode, a  close  parallel  to  Cowley,  is  seen  in  Jerome  Fracas- 
tor's  Joseph,  a  Latin  poem  in  two  books,  which  appeared 
in  his  Opera  Omnia,  etc.,  Venise,  1555. 

Jerome  Fracaster  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated  schol- 
ars of  his  time.  Born  at  Verona  in  1483,  he  became  Pro- 
fessor of  Logic  at  Padua,  at  the  age  of  nineteen.  He 
established  his  reputation  as  a  poet  by  the  publication  of 
his  Syphilod^s,  sive  viorbi  gallici,  libri  tres,  Verone,  1530,  in 

'  See  Marcus  Landau.  Die  Dranien  von  Herodes  u.  Alariatnne,  Zeitschrift 
fiir  vet-gleichende  Litterattu-geschichte,  Netie  Folge,  VIII,  183. 


-67- 

which  he  traces  the  origin  of  this  loathsome  disease  syph- 
ilis to  ancient  times.  His  poem  was  very  popular,  and 
was  translated  into  many  languages. 

Joseph  was  the  last  of  his  works,  and  was  left  unfinished 
at  his  death  in  1553.  It  must  have  been  known  to  Mar- 
ini,  and  to  Cowley  it  was  made  familiar  by  Joshua  Sylves- 
ter's translation,  entitled  The  Maiden  s  Bhish,  or  Joseph, 
Mirror  of  Modestie,  Map  of  Pietie,  Maze  of  Destinie,  or  rather 
of  Divine  Providence.  From  the  Latin  of  Fracastorius,  trans- 
lated and  dedicated  to  the  High  HopefuU  Charles,  Prince  of 
Wales,  by  Joshua  Sylvester.  It  was  entered  upon  the  Sta- 
tioners' Register  Dec.  6th,  1619.  See  Grosart's  edition  of 
Sylvester,  Chert sey  Worthies  Library,  1879,  H-  103  ff.  Syl- 
vester's translation  contains  1799  lilies  and  is  written  in 
heroic  couplets. 

The  poem  begins  with  the  usual  invocation,  but  there 
is  no  picture  of  hell  here  as  in  Cowley  and  in  Crashavv, 
Pluto,  the  poet  relates,  knowing  that  from  Abraham's 
stock  the  Saviour  of  mankind  is  to  spring,  becomes  per- 
plexed and  vexed  sore,  and  therefore,  '  he  labors  and  he 
lays  about,  with  all  the  engines  of  his  hellish  hate,  that 
dear  issue  to  exterminate.'  He  incites  the  anger  of  the 
brethren  against  Joseph,  so  that  they  cast  him  into  the 
pit.  But  the  Almighty  takes  pity  upon  Joseph  and  sends 
down  an  angel  to  comfort  him. 

When  Joseph  is  finally  sold,  and  brought  before  Poti- 
phar,  lempsar,  Potiphar's  wife,  conceives  a  guilty  pas- 
sion for  the  young  Egyptian.  Pluto,  seeing  his  opportu- 
nity, calls  forth  a  cruel  Harpy  full  of  wicked  wile  (the  Latin 
has  '  unum  servorum '),  and  commissions  him  to  inflame 
lempsar's  lust  still  more,  and  if  possible  to  '  set  Joseph, 
too,  afire.' 

He,  glad  and  ready  for  the  worst  of  ills, 

With  Stygian  puddle  half  a  vial  fills, 

Blending  some  bitter  sharp-sweet  wine  withal. 

Then  snatching  quick  one  of  the  snakes  that  crawl 

About  Alecto's  grim  and  ghastl_v  brows, 

Away  he  hies  to  Potiphar  his  hows, 

Within  his  bosom  hiding  what  he  had. 

And  formerly  just  in  the  form  him  clad 

Of  Iphicle,  the  lady  lempsar's  nurse. 


—68— 

In  this  disguise  he  addresses  her,  encourages  her  in  her 
desires,  and  gives  her,  as  a  love  potion,  '  the  hellish  phil- 
ter'  which  excites  her  passions  still  further.  Clothing 
himself  then  as  a  hag,  he  hastens  to  Joseph's  chamber,  but 
finds  the  young  man  praying  and  praising  God,  and  is 
driven  off  by  a  heavenly  warder  with  a  shining  sword. 
Whereupon,  he  assumes  the  form  of  an  owl.  and  perches 
upon  the  roof.  Here  ends  Book  I  in  the  Latin.  Sylves- 
ter prints  both  books  in  one. 

lempsar,  meanwhile,  influenced  b}'  the  poison,  tempts 
Joseph,  but  he  resists  her  advances  and  leaves  her.  At 
this  the  devil  upon  the  roof  '  puts  off  the  fowl  and  re-puts 
on  Nurse  Iphicle  a  space,'  enters  to  lempsar  and  encour- 
ages her  to  make  a  second  attempt.  This  she  does,  but 
is  again  repulsed  by  Joseph,  who  tells  her  the  real  char- 
acter of  the  supposed  Iphicle.  Upon  this  the  fury,  who 
was  hiding  behind  the  door,  rushes  forth,  and  seizing  one 
of  her  snakes,  throws  it  at  Joseph,  but  the  heavenly  war- 
der again  saves  him.  Unable  to  hurt  him,  the  snake 
crawls  to  lempsar,  creeps  into  her  skirts,  gnaws  into  her 
very  vitals,  and  infuses  his  poison  into  her  soul.  Furious, 
she  seizes  Joseph's  cloak,  so  that  he  flees  in  terror.  The 
fiend  then  incites  lempsar  to  accuse  Joseph  of  having 
attempted  her  honor: — 

.    All  which  and  more  false  Iphicle  avers 
And  aggravates,  adjudging  him  exempt 
From  pity,  fit  to  hang  for  such  attempt 
So  insolent,  so  impudent,  and  whets 
The  hearer's  hearts  ;  then  close  away  she  gets, 
Unseen  and  owl-like  in  a  cloud  involv'd, 
Her  borrowed  body  into  air  dissolv'd, 
Descending  swift  from  whence  she  came,  to  tell 
Her  good  ill-service  and  success  in  Hell. 

In  the  opening  lines,  the  expression  crat  siispectus  Jacob 
is  to  be  compared  with  Marini's  title  Sospctto  tV  Her  ode. 

Here  we  find  a  parallelism  between  Fracastor  (or  Syl- 
vester) and  Cowley,  which  does  not  appear  in  Crashaw. 
When  Joseph  is  cast  into  the  pit,  the  Lord  looks  down 
with  tender  compassion  upon  him,  and  calling  one  of  his 


-69- 

winged  messengers  to  him,  sends  him  down  to  comfort 
Joseph.  Similarly,  we  find  in  the  Davidcis,  following  im- 
mediately upon  the  Devil's  successful  attempt  to  incite 
Saul  against  David,  a  picture  of  God  in  Heaven  looking 
down  in  pity  upon  David  and  sending  a  herald  to  comfort 
him.  This  episode  is  wanting  in  the  Sospetto.  Cowley 
has  a  long  description  of  Heaven,  with  the  Almighty 
surrounded  by  his  angels,  evidently  based  on  Statius, 
Theb.,  I,  211  ff.  and  on  Virgil's  Aeneid,  X,  loi  ff.,  to 
whom  Cowley  refers  in  a  note.  Otherwise  the  two  pas- 
sages in  Cowley  and  Sylvester  correspond  closely. 
In  Sylvester,  the  angel's  flight  is  thus  described  : 

The  hill-born  nymphs  with  quav'ring  warbles  sing 
His  happy  welcome :  caves  and  rocks  do  ring 
Redoubled  echoes  :  woods  and  winds  withal 
Whisper  about  a  joyful  Madrigal. 

While  Cowley  thus  pictures  it : 

The  jocund  spheres  began  again  to  play, 
Again  each  spirit  sung  Halleluia. 

Of  the  swiftness  of  the  angel's  flight,  we  read  in  Syl- 
vester : 

And  through  the  7voundless  welkin  swifter  glides 
Than  Zephyrus  :  or  than  (when  mounted  high 
With  many  turns  and  tow'ring  in  the  sky) 
The  stout  Ger-faulcon  stoopeth  at  the  Heme 
With  sudden  souse  that  man}'  scarce  discerne, 
Such  was  the  speed  of  the  celestial  bird. 

In  Cowley  : 

Even  so 
(But  not  so  swift)  the  morning  glories  flow 
At  once  from  the  bright  sun,  and  strike  the  ground  : 
So  winged  lightning  the  soft  air  does  woutid  : 
Slow  time  admires  and  knows  not  what  to  call 
The  motion,  having  no  account  so  small. 

In  Sylvester,  the  angel  then  appears  to  Joseph,  com- 
forts him,  tells  him  God  is  his  friend,  and  reveals  to  him 
the  future,  with  a  prophecy  of  the  Saviour  who  is  to  spring 
from  Joseph's  stock. 


— 70— 

In  Cowley,  the  angel  comes  to  David,  comforts  him, 
and  prophesies  to  him  the  Saviour  of  mankind,  who  is  to 
spring-  from  David's  stock. 

It  appears  evident,  then,  that  Cowley  knew  and  read 
the  Maiden  s  Blush  among  the  works  of  Joshua  Sylvester. 
It  is  not  an  improbable  supposition  that  Cowley  read  the 
original  Latin  of  Fracastorius. 

In  the  Divine  Weeks  of  Du  Bartas  appears  still  another 
handling  of  this  same  theme  (see  The  Law,  3d  Part,  3d 
Day,  II  Week,  11.  36-120),  namely,  where  Envy  incenses 
Pharaoh  to  oppress  the  Israelites.  First  is  given  a 
description  of  Envy's  palace.  To  her,  swift-flying  Fame 
reports  the  prosperity  of  Israel.     Envy — 

Swoln  like  a  toad,  between  her  bleeding  jawes 
Her  hissing  serpents'  wriggling  tails  she  chawes,' 
And  hasting  hence  in  Isis  form  she  jets. 

Disguised  thus  in  the  form  of  the  goddess,  she  appears  to 
the  sleeping  Pharaoh  and  urges  him  to  bestir  himself,  and 
take  arms  against  the  dangers  that  threaten  him.  With 
that  she  blows  into  his  breast  a  baneful  air,  which  flows 
through  all  his  veins  and  '  makes  reason  stoop  to  sence  in 
every  part.' 

Compare  especially  Sylvester,  11.  92-93,  with  the  Davideis, 
I,  229-230.     See  above,  p.  34. 

In  1587  appeared  at  Cracow  a  Latin  drama,  Castus 
Joseph,  by  the  Polish  priest  Simon  Simonides  (Szymono- 
wicz).^  This  pla}^  opens  with  a  long  monologue  by  the 
Malus  D^mon,  who  is  hostile  to  the  Hebrew  race  because 
of  the  old  prophec}^  '  pedibus  .  .  .  saeviret  super  caput 
meum,'  so  he  seeks  to  ruin  Joseph  by  means  of  a  woman, 
Potiphar's  wife  lempsar.  The  devils  appear,  however, 
only  in  the  opening  scene. 

'  Compare  the  Sospetto,  'The  while  his  twisted  tail  he  gnaw'd  for  spite.' 
^  Cited  by  R.  M.  Werner  in  the  review  of  Von  Weilen  Der  Agyptische 
Joseph^  etc.,  Zeiischr.  filr  deutsches  A  Iter  turn.  Vol.  33,  pp.  47-48.  Werner 
saj's  the  pla3^  shows  no  influence  of  the  western  versions.  Potiphar's  wife 
is  here  called  lempsar, — a  name,  thinks  Werner,  invented  by  the  poet  (foot 
note,  p.  49).  But  this  name  at  once  connects  the  play  with  Fracastor'syi^j^//;, 
b)'  which  it  was  doubtless  influenced. 


Tasso  in  his  Gcritsaleviine  Liberata  {i^y^)  has  made  use  of 
this  episode  from  the  Aencid.  In  1594  Richard  Carew 
published  his  translation  of  the  first  five  books  of  Godfrey 
of  Bulloigne.  In  1600  appeared  Edward  Fairfax's  trans- 
lation, a  work  far  superior  in  every  respect  to  Carew's, 
and  considered  one  of  the  glories  of  Elizabeth's  reign.  A 
second  edition  was  published  in  1624. 

Book  IV  opens  with  a  scene  in  hell.  The  devil  assem- 
bles his  fiends  and  sends  them  forth  against  the  Christians. 
False  Plidraort,  the  wizard,  is  employed  by  Satan  to 
further  his  evil  designs.  Hidraort  sends  his  niece  Armida 
to  ensnare  the  Christian  knights.  The  picture  of  hell  is 
drawn  with  power  and  great  imagination,  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  Cowley  consulted  this  passage  in  Fairfax's 
translation.  Compare  especially  the  effect  of  Satan's 
rage,  Davidcis,  I,  147  flf.,  with  Fairfax,  Book  IV,  stanza  8. 

In  Book  VIII,  stanza  72,  Alecto  'strews  wasteful  fire' 
among  the  Italians,  and  incites  them  to  revolt.  Stanza  74 
is  borrowed  directly  from  Aeneid,  VII,  462-466,  exactly 
the  same  passage  which  Marini  appropriated  to  describe 
Herod's  rage,  Strage  degli  Innocenti,  stanza  61  (see  above, 
p.  65). 

In  Book  IX  we  find  the  imitation  of  the  episode  from 
Virgil,  an  almost  exact  parallel  to  Cowley. 

In  the  opening  stanzas,  Alecto  disguises  herself, 

and  semblant  bore 
Of  one  whose  age  was  great,  whose  looks  were  grave, 
Whose  cheeks  were  bloodless,  and  whose  locks  were  hoar. 

She  appears  then  at  the  bed-side  of  Soliman,  and  urges 
him  to  active  efforts  against  the  Christians  : 

This  said,  her  poison  in  his  breast  she  hides, 
And  then  to  shapeless  air  unseen  she  glides. 

Compare  p.  56  above,  and  also 

Straight  into  shapeless  air  unseen  she  fell. 

Davideis,  II,  838. 


There  are  also  other  passages  in  which  Cowley's  in- 
debtedness to  Tasso  may  be  traced.  Compare  the  Invoca- 
tion in  each,  and  the  following:  Description  of  Gabriel, 
Davidcis,  II,  793  ff,;  Fairfax,  Canto,  I,  stanzas  13  fif. ; 
Canto  IX,  stanza  59 ;  though  here  both  Tasso  and  Cowley 
borrow  from  the  classics,  Homer,  Iliad,  XXIV,  339 ; 
Odyssey,  V,  43  ;  Virgil,  Aeneid,   IV,  238  ;  Statins,  Thebaid, 

I,  303.     Compare  also  Milton,  Paradise  Lost,  V,  246. 
Mention  must  be  made  of  Ben  Jonson,  The  Poetaster,  in 

the  prologue  to  which  Envy  appears  with  her  snakes. 
Gifford,  in  a  note,  compares  with  the  Davideis. 

When  we  examine,  however,  details  of  this  episode  in 
the  Davideis,  we  find  passages,  metaphors  and  similes  taken 
from  almost  all  Latin  and  Greek  poets. 

In  his  description  of  heaven,  and  of  the  Lord  sending 
an  angel  to  comfort  David,  Cowley  has  followed  Fracas- 
tor,  but  both  Cowley  and  Fracastor  are  indebted  to 
Statius,  Thebaid,  I,  192,  ff.,  where  Jupiter,  in  answer  to 
Oedipus's  prayer  for  vengeance,  sends  Mercury  to  sum- 
mon Laius  from  hell.  Compare  also  Iliad,  24;  Aeneid, 
IV,  238  ;  X,  loi  ;  Tasso,  Gierus.  Lib.,  I,  13.  The  speech 
of  Jehovah,  Davideis,  I,  389,  ff.,  is  modelled  upon  that  of 
Jupiter,  Thebaid,  I,  211  ff.  For  the  whole  episode  of  Envy 
in  disguise  inciting  Saul  to  vengeance,  compare  Thebaid, 

II,  I  ff.,  where  Laius,  disguised  as  Tiresias,  appears  to 
Eteocles  and  urges  him  to  action,  a  passage  referred  to 
by  Cowley  in  a  note.  From  Statius,  too,  Cowley  took 
not  a  few  features  of  his  description  of  hell.  Compare 
Thebaid,  II,  37  with  Davideis,  I,  75.  Also  the  description 
of  Pluto  in  the  infernal  regions,'  Thebaid,  VIII,  and  the 
picture  of  the  furies,  Book  XI,  must  have  afforded  Cowley 
many  suggestions. 

From  Ovid,  Cowley  took  several  features  of  his  descrip- 
tion of  hell.  Compare  Davideis,  I,  71  ff.  with  Metamor- 
phoses, I,  137  ff.  ;  II,  760  ff,  (see  also  Milton,  Paradise  Lost, 
I,  684).  Cowley's  description  of  Envy  is  largely  made  up 
from  MetaniorpJioses,  II,  760  ;  IV,  431  ;   VIII,  792. 

The  picture  of  Satan's  i*age,  Davideis,  T,  143  ff,,  is  imi- 


tated  from  Claudian,  De  Raptii  Proserpinae,  I,  83  ff.  Com- 
pare also  Tasso,  Gieriis.  Lib.,  IV,  8.  The  speech  of  Envy 
to  Satan  follows  closely  that  of  the  fury  Lachesis  to  Pluto, 
De Raptu  Proserpinae,  I,  55  ff.,  and  the  speech  of  Megaera, 
In  Rufinuni,  I,  74  ff.  The  whole  episode  in  Cowley  is  to 
be  compared  with  In  Ritfiniivi,  I,  123  ff. 

For  the  description  of  hell  in  the  Davideis  compare  also 
Hesiod's  famous  description,  Theogony,  11.  713  fF.,  a  passage 
to  which  Cowley  refers. 

Finally,  Cowley's  description  of  heaven  is  modelled 
upon  his  own  description  of  hell;  the  phraseology  corre- 
sponds closely. 

Hell. 

Beneath  the  silent  chambers  of  the  earth, 
Where  the  sun's  fruitful  beams  give  metals  birth, 
Where  he  the  growth  of  fatal  gold  doth  see, 

Beneath  the  dens  where  unfletcht  tempests  lie, 

Beneath  the  mighty  ocean's  wealthy  caves. 
Beneath  the  eternal  fountain  of  all  waves. 
Where  their  vast  court  the  mother  waters  keep. 

There  is  a  place  deep,  wondrous  deep  below, 

Which  genuine  night  and  hoi-ror  does  oerjlow. 

No  doze nd  controls  the  unwearied  space,  but  Hell 

Endless  as  those  dire  pains  which  in  it  dwell. 

Here  no  dear  glimpse  of  the  sun's  lovely  face 

Strikes  through  the  solid  darkness  of  the  place. 

No  dawning  morn  does  her  kind  reds  display  ; 

One  slight  weak  beam  would  here  be  thought  the  day. 

Here  Lucifer  the  mighty  captive  reigns. 

Proud  midst  his  woes  and  tyrant  in  his  chains. 

Heaven. 

Above  the  well-set  orbs'  soft  harmony, 

Above  those  petty  lamps  that  gild  the  night. 

There  is  a  place  o'erfown  zaith  hallowed  light. 

Where  heaven  as  if  it  left  itself  behind, 

Is  stretch' d  out  far,  nor  its  oivn  bounds  can  find. 

Here  peaceful  flames  swell  up  the  sacred  place, 

Nor  can  the  glory  contain  itself  in  th'  endless  space. 


—74— 

For  there  no  twilight  of  the  sun's  dull  ray 
Glim  vie rs  upon  the  ptire  and  ftative  day. 
No  pale-faced  moon  does  in  stoVn  beams  appear. 
Or  with  dim  taper  scatter  darkness  there. 

Nothing  is  there  to  come  and  nothing  past. 
But  an  eternal  no2u  does  always  last  ; 
There  sits  the  Almighty,  First  of  all  and  End, 
Whom  nothing  but  himself  can  comprehend. 

Heaven  is  thus  only  the  negative  of  hell,  and  both 
descriptions  are  but  lifeless  catalogues  of  details  full  of 
childish  conceits. 

SUMMARY. 

After  having  examined  in  detail  the  poems  of  David 
preceding  Cowley,  the  conclusion  was  reached  that 
Cowley  received  from  Du  Bartas  the  suggestion  and 
inspiration  of  the  Davideis,  and  that,  in  basing  his  religious 
epic  upon  the  Aeneid,  he  likewise  followed  the  precedent 
of  the  French  poet. 

For  general  outline  of  the  treatment,  however,  Cowley 
owes  more  perhaps  to  Virgil  than  to  any  other  writer. 

The  striking  verbal  correspondence  between  the  David- 
eis,  I,  70  ff.  and  the  Sospetto  D'Herode  was  discussed  at 
length,  and,  from  the  evidence  attainable,  it  was  concluded 
that  Cowley  in  this  episode  imitated  Crashaw,  but  did 
not  use  Marini,  Crashaw's  original.  Further,  both  Marini 
and  Cowley  were  indebted  to  Virgil's  Aeneid,  VII,  286  fF. 
Other  imitations  of  this  same  episode  from  Virgil  were 
examined,  and  it  was  concluded  that  Cowley  made  use 
of  Sylvester's  translation  of  Fracastor's  Joseph,  and  also 
of  Fairfax's  Tasso.  Finally  a  brief  discussion  was  given 
of  Cowley's  indebtedness  to  the  classic  poets;  namely,  in 
addition  to  Virgil,  Statins,  Thebaid,  Ovid,  Metamorphoses, 
Claudian,  I)i  Riifinum  and  De  Raptii  Proserpinae,  and 
Hesiod's  Theogony. 


— /D — 

METRE   OF   THE    DAVIDEIS. 
THE    HEIMISTICH. 

In  note  14  to  Book  I  of  the  Davideis,  Cowley  attempts 
to  justify  his  use  of  the  broken  line  by  reference  to  Vir- 
gil :  *  Though  none  of  the  English  poets,  nor  indeed  of  the 
ancient  Latin,  have  imitated  Virgil  in  leaving  sometimes 
half  verses  (where  the  Sense  seems  to  invite  a  man  to  that 
Liberty)  yet  his  authority  alone  is  sufficient,  especially  in 
a  thing  that  looks  so  naturally  and  gracefully,  and  I  am 
far  from  their  Opinion,  who  think  that  Virgil  himself  in- 
tended to  have  filled  up  those  broken  Hemistiques  :  There 
are  some  places  in  him  which  I  dare  almost  swear  have 
been  made  up  since  his  death  by  the  putid  Officiousness 
of  some  Grammarians.'  Then  follow  quotations  from  Vir- 
gil and  Ovid  to  establish  this  point.  Cowley  seems  to 
have  imagined  that  he  was  introducing  a  new  feature  into 
English  poetry,  yet  Francis  Quarles,  only  a  few  years 
before,  had  made  frequent  use  of  the  hemistich,  and  it 
appears  also  in  Peele's  King  David  and  Fair  BetJisabe,  ed. 
Boyce,  London,  1828,  I,  279. 

In  the  Davideis,  the  following  examples  appear: — 

5-stressed  line — 

O  my  ill-changed  condition  !     O  my  Fate  !     I,  141. 

4-stressed  line — 

Such  is  the  sea,  and  such  was  Saul.     II,  ig. 

3-stressed  lines — 

Did  I  lose  heaven  for  this?  I,  142.  One  hour  will  do  your  work. 
I,  584.     By  the  Great  Name  'tis  true.     II,  3S0. 

'twill  be  a  smaller  gift.  Ill,  895.  It  did  so,  and  did  wonders.  IV, 
55.     Yet  such,  Sir,  was  his  case.     IV,  1047. 

2-stressed  line — 

And  both  for  God.     IV,  676.1 

'  Schipper,  Altengl.  Metrik,  II,  210,  in  treating  Cowley's  use  of  the  broken 
line,  makes  a  curious  slip  in  quoting  examples  of  Cowley's  metre  from  Mrs. 
A.  Behn's  and  Nahum  Tate's  translations  of  the  Book  0/  Plants. 


-7(3- 

Cowley's  use  of  the  hemistich  is  often  artistic  and  effec- 
tive. For  instance,  Satan,  expressing  his  rage  at  David's 
success,  suddenly  breaks  off  with, 

O  my  ill-changed  condition  !     O  my  Fate  ! 
Did  I  lose  heav'n  for  this?  I,  141. 

And  again  the  speech  of  Michel  to  the  pursuers  of 
David  is  suddenly  broken  by  her  tearful  utterance, 

One  hour  will  do  your  work. 

Cowley  evidently  felt  the  limitations  of  the  rime,  and, 
lacking  skill  in  varying  the  position  of  the  caesura,  tried 
to  gain  the  same  end  by  a  rhetorical  .device, 

Dryden  makes  frequent  and  skilful  use  of  the  hemistich, 
yet,  in  his  Discourse  of  Epic  Poetry  (1697),  he  objects  to 
Cowlej^'s  view  of  the  broken  line  in  Virgil,  and  inclines  to 
the  contrary  opinion,  namely  that  the  Latin  poet  intended 
eventually  to  fill  in  the  half  verses  (Malone,  III,  585  ff.) : 
'But  there  is  another  thing  in  which  I  have  presumed  to 
deviate  from  him  and  Spenser,  They  both  make  hemi- 
sticks,  or  half  verses,  breaking  off  in  the  middle  of  a  line. 
I  confess  there  are  not  many  such  in  the  Faery  Queen  ; 
and  even  those  might  be  occasioned  by  his  unhappy 
choice  of  so  long  a  stanza.  Mr.  Cowley  had  found  out 
that  no  kind  of  staff  is  proper  for  an  heroic  poem,  as  being 
all  too  lyrical ;  yet  though  he  wrote  in  couplets,  where 
rhyme  is  freer  from  constraint,  he  frequently  affects  half 
verses,  of  which  we  find  not  one  in  Homer,  and  I  think 
not  in  any  of  the  Greek  poets  or  the  Latin,  excepting  only 
Virgil,  and  there  is  no  question  but  that  he  thought  he 
had  Virgil's  authority  for  that  license.  But  I  am  confi- 
dent our  poet  never  meant  to  leave  him  or  any  other  such 
a  precedent.  .  .  .  On  these  considerations,  I  have  shunned 
hemisticks,  not  being  willing  to  imitate  Virgil  to  a  fault  ; 
like  Alexander's  courtiers,  who  affected  to  hold  their 
necks  awry,  because  he  could  not  help  it.'  Evidently 
this  applied  only  to  his  translation  of  Virgil,  in  which  he 
felt  that  the  broken  lines  did  not  properly  belong,  and 
that  thus,  in  his  capacity  as  translator,  he  had  no  right  to 


introduce  them  ;  in  his  dramas,  on  the  contrary,  the  hemi- 
stich is  common. 

As  to  the  significance  of  the  broken  lines  in  Virgil, 
scholars  to-day  are  divided  in  opinion,  some  holding  to 
Cowley's  view  and  some  to  Dryden's.  Dryden,  however, 
was  totally  wrong  in  his  conception  of  Spenser's  use  of 
the  hemistich  in  his  Faerie  Queene.  There  are  but  two 
examples  to  be  found  :  in  Book  II,  canto  VIII,  1.  500,  and 
in  Book  III,  canto  VI,  1.  405,  in  both  of  which  the  stanza 
is  clearly  defective.  In  Colin  Cloufs  Come  Home  Again,  1. 
695,  is  an  odd  line,  where,  however,  the  corresponding 
line  has  evidently  been  lost.  The  only  undoubted  exam- 
ple in  Spenser  appears  in  the  Shepherd's  Calendar,  Feb-' 
ruary,  1.  238,  where  Cuddy  interrupts  Thenot's  long 
speech. 

Denham,  in  his  translation  of  the  Aeneid  (written  in 
1636,  published  about  twenty  years  later),  had  used  the 
hemistich,  but  as  it  occurs  only  in  lines  corresponding  to 
the  Latin,  and  as  it  appears  in  none  of  his  other  poems,  he 
doubtless  did  what  Dryden  avoided,  'imitated  Virgil  to  a 
fault.'  In  Waller,  not  a  single  example  appears.  Early 
in  the  next  century.  Garth,  in  his  translation  of  the  Meta- 
morphoses, still  held  to  Cowley's  view  of  the  broken  lines 
in  the  Aeneid ;  Pope  inclined  to  Dryden's  opinion  and 
excluded  them  from  his  verse. 

The  hemistich,  however,  founded  thus  by  Cowley  upon 
a  doubtful  conception  of  Virgil's  metre,  and  established 
by  Dryden  through  an  erroneous  idea  of  Spenser's  verse, 
became  a  recognized  license  in  English  poetry,  persisting 
even  to  our  own  day.  Keats  introduces  into  his  heroic 
couplets  short  lines  of  two  and  three  stresses,  which,  how- 
ever, always  rime,  for  example  in  his  Callidore  (see 
Schipper,  Altengl.  Metrik,  II,  220). 

THE    TRIPLET. 

In  the  Davideis,  there  is  no   example  of  the   triplet,  but 
in  the  Anacreontics,  written  at  about  the  same  time,  appear 
a  considerable  number  as  follows  : 
6 


-78- 

\  Love,  11.  1-3  Kings:  things:  strings;  11.  12-14  lyre: 
inspire:  desire;  11.  15-17  Kings:  things:  strings.  Ill 
Beauty,  11.  21-23  express:  undress:  nakedness.  IV  The 
Duel,  11.  3-5  enemy:  I:  defy;  11.  22-24  maintain:  vain: 
remain.  V  Age,  11.  9-1 1  take:  make;  stake.  IX  TJie 
Epicure,  11.  25-27  crave  :  have  :  grave. 

Here  the  lines  are  tetrameters,  and  the  verse  is  very 
free.  In  his  heroic  couplets  the  following  examples  were 
noted  : 

Of  Liberty,  Grosart,  11,  314,  11.  7-9  stay:  away:  play. 
Of  Agriculture,  Grosart,  II,  324,  Country  Mouse,  11.  15-17 
wheat:  meat:  eat.  Of  Myself,  Grosart,  II,  341,  Martial 
L,  10,  Ep.  47,  11.  3-5  all  :  call:  small.  Prologue  to  Cutter,  11. 
17-19  by  :  cry  :  why.  Epilogue  to  Cutter,  11.  1 1-13  Cavalier  : 
here  :  were.  Discourse  concerning  the  Government  of  Oliver 
Cromwell,  Grosart,  II,  307,  11.  23-25  shew:  do:  slew;  11. 
44-46  throne  :  grown  :  one. 

Cowley  occasionally  introduces  two  couplets  together, 
with  the  same  rime.  Of  these  there  are  three  examples 
vci  \\iQ  Anacreontics  ;  II  Drinking, Yi.  16-20  high  :  why:  I: 
why:  VII,  Gold,  11.  17-21  hate:  debate:  separate:  create. 
IX  TJie  Szvallow,  11.  15-19  pray  :  away  :  away  :  to-day.  In 
the  Davideis  there  are  two  examples :  sell :  well :  Israel : 
foretell  I,  917  ;  dare  :  there  :  care  :  prayer  IV,  737.  Also 
in  the  Essays,  Country  Mouse,  Grosart,  II,  324,  11.  50-54 
repel:  cell :  tell :  fell. 

These  cases  seem,  however,  due  to  carelessness  rather 
than  to  design.  Thus  in  all  Cowley's  poetry  there  are 
only  hfteen  examples  of  the  triplet ;  in  his  heroic  couplets, 
only  seven.  Evidently,  thei'efore,  Cowley  regarded  the 
triplet  as  a  metrical  license.  See  also  Mead's  statement' : 
'  Of  Pope's  predecessors,  Cowle}^  and  Dryden  show  most 
partiality  for  the  triplet'  (p.  43).  Cowley  and  Dryden, 
however,  are  not  to  be  classed  together  in  their  use  of  the 
triplet,  for  in  4000  lines  of  Dryden  {Absalom  and  Achitophel, 
Religio  Laici,  Hi)id  and  Panther  I-III)  appear  200  triplets 
(Mead). 

'  VV.  E.  Mead.  The  Versification  of  Pope  in  its  Relatioji  to  the  Seventeenth 
Century,  Leipzig,  1889. 


—79— 

Of  the  other  poets  of  this  period,  Milton  never  uses 
the  triplet.  Waller  has  only  three  examples.  Denham's 
Cooper  s  /////contains  none,  but  there  are  six  in  his  Destruc- 
tion of  Troy  (Mead). 

Dryden,  Discoiirse  of  Epic  Poetry,  was  the  first  that 
attempted  to  explain  the  rhetorical  and  metrical  value  of 
triplets,  namely,  that  they  '  bound  the  sense.'  According 
to  Dr.  Johnson,  though  '  Dryden  did  not  introduce  the 
triplet,  he  established  it.  Dryden  seems  not  to  have 
traced  it  higher  than  to  Chapman's  Homer ;  but  it  is  to 
be  found  in  Phaer's  Virgil  (1558)  written  in  the  reign  of 
Mary,  and  in  Hall's  Satires,  published  five  years  before 
the  death  of  Elizabeth,' 

The  triplet  thus  established  by  Dryden  became  very 
popular  and  was  affected  by  all  the  poets  from  Cowley  to 
Wordsworth. 

Schipper  in  his  discussion  of  the  triplet,  Altenglische 
Metrik,  II,  207,  has  overlooked  these  examples  in  Phaer's 
Virgil  spoken  of  by  Dr.  Johnson.  The  earliest  instances 
cited  by  Schipper  are  from  Joseph  Hall's  Satires,  written 
in  heroic  couplets,  in  which  there  are  only  four  triplets. 
Book  IV,  satires  i,  4,  6.     Book  V,  satire  3. 

See  also  H.  M.  Regel.  JJber  George  Chapinans  Homer- 
ubersetzung,  EngliscJie  Stiidien,  IV,  336.  In  the  Iliad 
Regel  finds  36  examples  of  the  triplet;  in  the  Odyssey  121. 
Regel  also  refers  to  Phaer's  Virgil,  in  which  he  says  the 
triplet  is  not  uncommon,  (between  175  and  200  examples). 
'Im  heroischen  couplet,'  continues  Regel,  '  finden  sie  sich 
beinahe  von  anfang  an  fast  bei  alien  dichtcrn,  die  in  diesem 
metrum  geschrieben  haben.  Sie  sind  tiberhaupt  bei  den 
langzeilen  seltener  als  bei  den  funfifussigen  jamben.'  He 
gives,  however,  no  examples  in  support  of  his  statement, 
and  indeed  the  facts  do  not  seem  to  bear  it  out,  certainly 
for  the  early  period  of  the  language.  No  one  seems  to 
have  pointed  out  the  fact  that  triplets  appear  in  Middle 
English  verse.  Here  they  are  rare  in  the  short  line,  but 
more  common  in  the  long  line.  In  the  short  line  in  Seven 
Sages  (Percy  Society,  vol.  16, 1.  337)  is  one  example,  Caton  : 


— 8o— 

mone :  to-don.  In  Weber's  text  {Metrical  Romance,  vol.  3' 
1.  915),  one  example,  _/rt//r  .•  ivithalle :  falle.  In  Vox  and 
Witlf  (Matzner  Alteng.  Spj-acJiproben,  I,  136,  1.  293),  one 
example,  kvissc :  blissc :  forgcvcncss.  But  in  the  long-  line 
instances  are  frequent.  In  Horstmann's  Early  Sontli  Eng- 
lish Legendary  (E.  E.  T.  S.,  vol.  87),  written  in  the  long 
line,  septenaries  and  alexandrines,  examples  of  triplets  are 
numerous.  The  long  line  indeed  is  just  where  we  should 
expect  to  find  the  triplet  first,  for  here  the  jingle  of  the 
rime  would  be  less  noticeable.  The  appearance  of  the 
triplet  in  the  long  line  of  Chapman's  Homer  and  of  Phaer's 
Virgil  is  to  be  connected  with  the  not  uncommon  use  of 
the  triplet  in  the  Early  South  English  Legendary  (1280- 
1290).  The  triplet  seems,  however,  to  have  been  of  little 
significance  in  Middle  English  verse,  just  as  it  was  later 
until  Dryden  made  it  popular.  But  the  fact  that  it 
appears  in  Middle  English  has  not  yet  been  observed  by 
metrists. 

ALEXANDRINES. 

Still  another  metrical  license  which  Cowley  employed 
for  artistic  effect,  and  which,  too,  he  considered  an  innova- 
tion in  English  poetry,  was  the  introduction  into  the 
heroic  couplet  of  the  Alexandrine,  or  long  line  of  twelve 
syllables.  Here  again  he  has  recourse  to  Virgil  as  his 
authority  (Book  I,  note  25  of  Davideis) :  '  I  am  sorry  it  is 
necessary  to  admonish  the  most  part  of  my  readers  that 
it  is  not  by  Negligence  that  the  verse  is  so  loose,  long, 
and,  as  it  were,  vast ;  it  is  to  paint  in  the  Number  the 
Nature  of  the  thing  which  it  describes,  which  I  would 
have  observed  in  various  other  parts  of  this  Poem,  that 
else  will  pass  for  very  careless  Verses  :  "  And  overruns 
the  neighb'ring  Fields  with  violent  Course"'  {Davideis,  I, 
60).  Here  follow  various  other  examples  of  the  same 
kind.  'The  thing  is,'  he  continues,  'that  the  Disposition 
of  words  and  Numbers  should  be  such  as  that  out  of  the 
Order  and  Sound  of  them,  the  things  themselves  may  be 
represented.     This  the  Greeks  were  not  so  accurate  as  to 


— 8i— 

bind  themselves  to ;  neither  have  our  English  Poets 
observed  it,  for  ought  I  can  find.  The  Latins  (qui  Musas 
colunt  severiores),  sometimes  did  it,  and  their  Prince,  Vir- 
gil, always.' 

In  the  Daz'ide/s  there  are  25  Alexandrines,  as  follows: 
1,60,354.  832;  II,  611,  718;  III,  366,  844,  1035;  IV,  79, 
92,  143,  189,  303,  325-333.  351.  661,  840,  922. 

In  the  long  passage  IV,  325-333,  God's  speech  is  writ- 
ten in  Alexandrines  in  order  to  give  greater  dignity  to 
the  language,  and  so  anxious  is  the  poet  to  gain  the 
desired  effect,  that  he  makes  the  Almighty  use  the  first 
person  plural  of  majesty.    (See  Johnson,  Life  of  Cowley.) 

Other  examples  of  Alexandrines  appear  as  follows  :  On 
the  Deatli  of  Mr.  Crashazv,  11.  8,  16,  34,  44,  64,  74.  Here 
again  the  long  lines  are  used  to  lend  dignity  to  the  lan- 
guage. Verses  in  the  Discourse  Concerning  the  Govermnent 
of  Oliver  Cronnvell,  Grosart,  II,  307,  11.  20,  54;  ibid.,  II, 
308,  col.  b.,  1.  14:  Ansiver  to  a  Copy  of  Verses  sent  me  to 
Jersey,  last  line,  ibid.,  I,  145a  ;  Essays,  Danger  of  Procrasti- 
nation, ibid.,  II,  338a,  1.  5  ;  II,  339a,  1.  12  ;  Of  Myself ,  ibid., 
II,  341a,  II.  28-29.     Total  15. 

Total  number  of  Alexandrines  in  his  poetry,  35. 

The  fact  that  Cowley  was  the  first  poet  to  mingle  the 
Alexandrine  with  the  heroic  couplet  has  already  been 
pointed  out  by  Dr.  Johnson,  who,  however,  at  the  same 
time,  condemned  the  practice  :  '  I  know  not  whether  he 
has,  in  man}''  of  these  instances,  attained  the  representa- 
tion or  resemblance  that  he  purposes.  Verse  can  only 
imitate  sound  and  motion.  A  boundless  verse,  a  headlong 
verse,  and  a  verse  of  brass,  or  of  strong  brass,  seem  to  com- 
prise very  incongruous  and  unsociable  ideas.  What  there 
is  peculiar  in  the  sound  of  a  line  expressing  loose  care,  I 
cannot  discover  nor  why  the  pine  is  taller  in  the  alexan- 
drine than  in  ten  syllables.' 

Dryden,  Disco2irse  of  Epic  Poetry,  Malone,  III,  522,  thus 
justifies  his  use  of  the  Alexandrine:  'Spenser  has  also 
given  me  the  boldness  to  make  use  sometimes  of  his 
Alexandrine  line,  which  we  call,  though  improperly,  the 


—82— 

Pindarick,  because  Mr.  Cowley  has  often  employed  it  in 
his  odes.  It  adds  a  certain  majesty  to  the  verse,  when  it 
is  used  with  judgment,  and  stops  the  sense  from  overflow- 
ing into  another  line.' 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  one  instance  Cowley 
closes  the  triplet  with  an  Alexandrine.  In  the  verses  in 
Discourse  Cojicerning  the  Government  of  Oliver  Cromwell, 
Grosart,  II,  307b,  11.  15-17: 

The  great  Jesssean  race  on  Judah's  throne, 

'Till  'twas  at  last  an  equal  wager  grown  ; 

Scarce  Fate,  with  much  ado,  the  better  got  by  one. 

It  was  this  same  trick  of  verse  which  Dryden  after- 
words so  much  affected,  and  which,  in  his  Discourse  on 
E/>ic  Poetrj/,  M:xlone,  III,  537,  he  thus  justifies :  'When  I 
mentioned  the  Pindarick  line,  I  should  have  added  that  I 
take  another  license  in  my  verses,  for  I  frequently  make 
use  of  triplet  rhymes,  and  for  the  same  reason, — because 
they  bound  the  sense.  And  therefore  I  generally  join 
these  two  licenses  together  and  make  the  last  line  a  Pin- 
darick ;  for  besides  the  majesty  which  it  gives,  it  confines 
the  sense  within  the  barriers  of  these  lines,  which  would 
languish  if  lengthened  into  four.  Spenser  is  my  example 
for  both  these  privileges  of  English  verse, ^  and  Chapman 
has  followed  him  in  his  translation  of  Homer.  Mr.  Cow- 
ley has  given  in  to  them  after  both  ;  and  all  succeeding 
writers  after  him.  I  regard  them  now  as  the  Magna 
Charta  of  heroick  poetry.' 

FEMININE    RIMES. 

In  the  Davidcis  there  is  no  example  of  a  feminine  rime, 
and  it  is  not  common  in  the  other  poetry  of  Cowley. 
The  feminine  rime  was  generally  excluded  from  the  heroic 
couplet  by  the  seventeeth  century  poets.  In  Milton, 
Waller,  and  Dryden,  examples  are  few.  See  Mead,  pp. 
45-46.  In  the  heroic  couplets  of  Cowley  there  are  only 
nine  examples. 

^  In  the  Shepherd's  Calendar  there  are  six  triplets. 


In  the  rest  of  his  poetry  there  are  57  examples,  appear- 
ing, for  the  most  part,  in  the  Pindaric  Odes  and  Anacre- 
ontics, where  the  verse  is  free. 

RUN-ON    LINES    AND    RUN-ON    COUPLETS. 

On  Cowley's  use  of  the  heroic  couplet,  Schipper  re- 
marks (II,  210):  'Das  enjambement  bedient  er  sich  neben 
den  gevvohnlichen  Licenzen  wie  Taktumstellung-  und 
Wandel  der  Ciisur,  in  nicht  seltenen  Fallen.  Reimbre- 
chung  kommt  nur  ganz  vereinzelt  vor.  Auch  sind  die 
Reime  fast  durchgehends  stumpf.' 

In  Cowley's  early  poems,  his  use  of  the  heroic  couplet 
is  very  free,  as  appears  from  the  following  table  : 

Mid-stopt   Broken 
lines.        rimes. 


Z%  o 

7%  I 


11% 
13^ 


To  be  compared  with  this  are  two  humorous  poems  in 
which  the  verse  is  designedly  free  : 

Mid-stopt    Broken 
lines.        rimes. 

24%  12 


Run-on 

Run-on 

No.  lines. 

lines. 

couplets. 

1632 

£/eo;y  on  Death  of 

Lord  Carleton 

28 

23^ 

21^ 

1633 

Elegy  on  Death  of 

Mr.  Rd.  Gierke 

36 

20% 

IIJ? 

1633 

Dreaju  of  Elysium 

98 

32% 

24^ 

1633 

On  His    Majesty's 
Return    out    of 

Scotland 

54 

42% 

44^ 

1636 

Elegy  on  Death  of 

John  Littleton 

64 

2?>% 

28^ 

1636 

Elegy  on  Death  of 
Mrs.AnnWhit- 

Jield 

36 

AA% 

38^ 

Run-on 

Run-on 

Nc 

).  lines. 

lines. 

couplets. 

1636 

Poetical  Revenge 

54 

bbfa 

-J-ifc 

1645 

Answer  to  a   Copy 
of  Verses  sent  me 

to  Jersey 

52 

A2% 

36^ 

Here  there  is  a  marked  increase  in  the  per  cent,  of 
run-on  lines,  run-on  couplets,  and  mid-stop  lines. 

In  1637  Cowley  entered  the  University,  and  from  this 
time  forward  his  verse  becomes  more  correct,  as  may  be 
seen  from  the  following  table  : 


-84- 


Run-on 

Run-on 

Mid-stopt 

Broken 

No 

.  lines. 

lines. 

couplets 

lines. 

rimes. 

i639 

To  Lord  Falkland 

42 

21^ 

23^ 

0 

0 

1639 

On  the  Death  of 

Sir  H.   Wotton 

28 

21^ 

1% 

0 

0 

1640 

To  the  Bishop  of 

Lincoln 

56 

15^ 

\o% 

0 

0 

1641 

On  the  death  of 

Sir  A .  Vandyke 

40 

14^ 

\A% 

I 

0 

1650 

To  Sir  IV.  Davenant 

40 

22^ 

\o% 

0 

0 

1650 

On  the  Death  of 

Mr.  Crashaw 

72 

24^ 

10% 

2 

2 

The  following  table  exhibits  his  use  of  the  heroic  coup- 
let in  the  Davideis : 


No.  lines. 

Run-on 
lines. 

Run-on 
couplets. 

Mid-stopt 
lines. 

Broken 
rimes. 

Book  I 

934 

19^ 

13^ 

b% 

I^ 

"      II 

838 

\t% 

\o% 

1% 

2% 

"      III 

1034 

13^ 

11^ 

1% 

I^ 

"      IV 

1117 

23^ 

19^ 

10% 

2% 

Here  the  verse  gradually  becomes  freer,  the  increase  in 
mid-stopt  lines  being  especially  noticeable.  Effective  use 
is  made  of  them  in  conversation.  On  the  whole,  however, 
the  general  average  of  run-on  lines,  run-on  couplets,  and 
mid-stopt  lines  in  the  Davideis  agrees  with  the  average  of 
his  other  verse  at  this  period. 

For  the  heroic  couplets  interspersed  throughout  his 
prose,  of  which  only  the  longer  pieces  are  taken  (Grosart, 
II,  307,  323,  324,  325,  326,  333),  612  lines  in  all,  the  figures 
are,  run-on  lines  18,  run-on  couplets  19,  mid-stopt  lines  i. 

The  results  may  be  tabulated  thus : 


1632-1637  . 
1637-1650  . 

Davideis 
1660-1667     . 

It  thus  appears  that  Cowley's  verse  tends  to  become 

more  'correct.'     The  verse  of  his  boyhood,  1632-1637,  is 

*•  ^>free  and  careless.     Upon  his  entrance  to  the  University  a 


Lun-on 

Run-on 

Mid-stopt 

lines. 

couplets. 

lines. 

32% 

29^ 

6^ 

10% 

13^ 

^% 

18^ 

14^ 

n 

m 

19^ 

Ifo 

-85-        ■,..   "•  ■    ■'  ,  .i:. 

distinct  advance  is  noted  ;  his  verse  here  had  more  of  his 
care,  and  consequently  there  is  a  marked  decrease  in  the 
per  cent,  of  run-on  lines  and  run-on  couplets.  Since,  how- 
ever, from  1637  on,  the  per  cent,  remains  almost  constant, 
it  is  evident  that  this  approach  to  '  correctness  '  is  due, 
not  to  the  influence  of  Waller  and  of  the  '  classical  school,' 
but  to  the  natural  and  gradual  improvement  of  his  own 
verse.  In  metre,  as  in  almost  everything  else,  Virgil  was 
his  authority  and  court  of  last  resort,  and  to  him  Cowley 
was  indebted  for  every  '  improvement '  he  ventured  to 
introduce  into  the  heroic  couplet. 


(' 


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